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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: field · arm · bat · bank · racket · patient · ground · spring

  1. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  2. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  3. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  4. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  5. My father caught me by the ________________.
  6. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  7. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  8. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  9. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  10. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  11. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  12. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  13. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  14. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  15. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  16. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  17. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  18. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  19. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  20. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  21. There's no middle ________________.
  22. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  23. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  24. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — a coil
  2. racket — for tennis
  3. patient — a sick person
  4. bank — for money
  5. arm — part of the body
  6. arm — part of the body
  7. racket — a loud noise
  8. arm — a part of something
  9. ground — crushed
  10. field — farmland
  11. patient — calm and waiting
  12. bank — of a river
  13. racket — for tennis
  14. bank — for money
  15. spring — the season
  16. bat — in an idiom
  17. patient — a sick person
  18. bat — the animal
  19. spring — of water
  20. field — a subject
  21. ground — a position
  22. field — for sport
  23. ground — the earth
  24. bat — for baseball

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