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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 124 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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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: ground · cell · patient · field · pound · vault

  1. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  2. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  3. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  4. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  5. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  6. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  7. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  8. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  9. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  10. There's no middle ________________.
  11. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  12. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  13. He was locked up in a ________________.
  14. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  15. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  16. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  17. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  18. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!

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

Answer key

  1. patient — a sick person
  2. field — for sport
  3. patient — a sick person
  4. vault — a safe
  5. vault — an arched ceiling
  6. pound — to hit hard
  7. vault — in gymnastics
  8. pound — for dogs
  9. patient — calm and waiting
  10. ground — a position
  11. pound — a weight
  12. ground — crushed
  13. cell — in a prison
  14. field — a subject
  15. ground — the earth
  16. cell — in biology
  17. field — farmland
  18. cell — a phone

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