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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: pit · patient · field · chair · fork · mate

  1. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  2. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  3. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  4. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  5. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  6. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  7. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  8. Have you found your soul ________________?
  9. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  10. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  11. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  12. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  13. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  14. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  15. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  16. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  17. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  18. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. patient — calm and waiting
  2. field — farmland
  3. fork — to eat with
  4. mate — a friend
  5. pit — a hole
  6. field — a subject
  7. chair — a leader
  8. mate — a partner
  9. fork — in a road
  10. fork — a garden tool
  11. pit — in a race
  12. pit — a fruit stone
  13. patient — a sick person
  14. chair — a professorship
  15. patient — a sick person
  16. mate — to breed
  17. field — for sport
  18. chair — to sit on

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