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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: patient · tear · squash · field · file · bore · mug · ball

  1. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  2. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  3. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  4. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  5. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  6. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  7. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  8. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  9. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  10. The King held a masked ________________.
  11. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  12. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  13. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  14. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  15. Where did you ________________ them?
  16. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  17. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  18. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  19. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  20. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  21. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  22. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  23. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  24. He refilled his coffee ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. field — a subject
  2. patient — calm and waiting
  3. file — a tool
  4. tear — from crying
  5. patient — a sick person
  6. mug — a face
  7. field — farmland
  8. ball — a great time
  9. field — for sport
  10. ball — a dance
  11. patient — a sick person
  12. bore — gave birth
  13. bore — to tire
  14. tear — from crying
  15. mug — to rob
  16. file — a line of people
  17. ball — a round shape
  18. squash — the vegetable
  19. bore — to drill
  20. squash — to crush
  21. squash — the sport
  22. tear — to rip
  23. file — a document
  24. mug — a cup

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