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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 120 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: fork · field · pound · patient · drill · bear

  1. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  2. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  3. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  4. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  5. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  6. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  7. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  8. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  9. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  10. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  11. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  12. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  13. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  14. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  15. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  16. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  17. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  18. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. bear — to put up with
  2. pound — for dogs
  3. drill — the tool
  4. bear — the animal
  5. fork — a garden tool
  6. bear — the animal
  7. patient — a sick person
  8. drill — army training
  9. fork — in a road
  10. patient — a sick person
  11. field — for sport
  12. drill — a practice
  13. fork — to eat with
  14. field — a subject
  15. patient — calm and waiting
  16. pound — a weight
  17. field — farmland
  18. pound — to hit hard

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com