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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: spring · jam · cell · wax · field · bat · patient · craft

  1. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  2. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  3. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  4. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  5. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  6. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  7. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  8. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  9. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  10. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  11. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  12. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  13. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  14. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  15. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  16. He was locked up in a ________________.
  17. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  18. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  19. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  20. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  21. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  22. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  23. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  24. The moon will ________________ and wane.

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

Answer key

  1. jam — a tight spot
  2. bat — for baseball
  3. craft — a handicraft
  4. field — for sport
  5. wax — for sculpting
  6. jam — in traffic
  7. bat — the animal
  8. spring — of water
  9. spring — the season
  10. wax — in the ear
  11. spring — a coil
  12. craft — boats
  13. craft — a skill
  14. cell — in biology
  15. patient — a sick person
  16. cell — in a prison
  17. patient — a sick person
  18. field — farmland
  19. cell — a phone
  20. field — a subject
  21. patient — calm and waiting
  22. jam — to spread on bread
  23. bat — in an idiom
  24. wax — to grow

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