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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: can · field · game · key · patient · rule · bark · content

  1. This piece is in a major ________________.
  2. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  3. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  4. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  5. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  6. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  7. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  8. That was a fun ________________.
  9. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  10. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  11. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  12. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  13. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  14. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  15. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  16. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  17. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  18. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  19. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  20. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  21. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  22. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  23. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  24. ________________ you help me carry this box?

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

Answer key

  1. key — in music
  2. content — happy
  3. bark — of a tree
  4. rule — government
  5. field — farmland
  6. patient — a sick person
  7. key — for a lock
  8. game — a match
  9. can — a tin
  10. rule — a law
  11. game — wild animals
  12. patient — a sick person
  13. rule — to rule out
  14. content — the amount
  15. field — a subject
  16. bark — a dog's sound
  17. bark — to shout
  18. key — the most important part
  19. patient — calm and waiting
  20. can — a tin
  21. game — a kind of play
  22. field — for sport
  23. content — videos and posts
  24. can — to be able to

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