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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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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: field · tube · bound · march · patient · pitcher · content · fan

  1. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  2. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  3. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  4. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  5. I'll be taking the ________________.
  6. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  7. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  8. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  9. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  10. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  11. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  12. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  13. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  14. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  15. He is an ace ________________.
  16. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  17. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  18. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  19. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  20. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  21. That was ________________ to happen.
  22. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  23. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  24. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.

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

Answer key

  1. tube — in a tire
  2. march — the month
  3. content — videos and posts
  4. fan — a supporter
  5. tube — the underground
  6. field — for sport
  7. bound — obliged
  8. fan — a supporter
  9. patient — a sick person
  10. pitcher — a jug
  11. pitcher — a jug
  12. field — farmland
  13. bound — tied together
  14. patient — calm and waiting
  15. pitcher — in baseball
  16. march — the month
  17. tube — a container
  18. content — the amount
  19. march — music
  20. content — happy
  21. bound — certain
  22. fan — to cool the air
  23. patient — a sick person
  24. field — a subject

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