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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 116 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: bound · calf · cold · present · squash · field · patient · lie

  1. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  2. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  3. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  4. The water is too ________________.
  5. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  6. That was ________________ to happen.
  7. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  8. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  9. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  10. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  11. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  12. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  13. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  14. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  15. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  16. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  17. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  18. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  19. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  20. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  21. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  22. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  23. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  24. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.

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

Answer key

  1. present — a gift
  2. squash — the sport
  3. present — there
  4. cold — not warm
  5. patient — calm and waiting
  6. bound — certain
  7. calf — a young animal
  8. bound — obliged
  9. field — a subject
  10. patient — a sick person
  11. field — for sport
  12. squash — to crush
  13. lie — to recline
  14. calf — a young animal
  15. lie — an untruth
  16. squash — the vegetable
  17. calf — of the leg
  18. cold — an illness
  19. bound — tied together
  20. field — farmland
  21. patient — a sick person
  22. cold — the Cold War
  23. lie — an untruth
  24. present — the time now

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