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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: squash · field · date · perch · pitch · patient · bass · cell

  1. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  2. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  3. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  4. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  5. Have you settled on a ________________?
  6. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  7. He was locked up in a ________________.
  8. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  9. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  10. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  11. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  12. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  13. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  14. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  15. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  16. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  17. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  18. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  19. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  20. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  21. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  22. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  23. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  24. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.

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

Answer key

  1. patient — calm and waiting
  2. field — a subject
  3. perch — for a bird
  4. squash — the vegetable
  5. date — on the calendar
  6. field — for sport
  7. cell — in a prison
  8. squash — to crush
  9. field — farmland
  10. bass — the fish
  11. bass — low music
  12. patient — a sick person
  13. perch — for a bird
  14. pitch — completely
  15. pitch — a sales talk
  16. patient — a sick person
  17. squash — the sport
  18. pitch — a sports field
  19. cell — a phone
  20. cell — in biology
  21. date — the fruit
  22. bass — the instrument
  23. date — on the calendar
  24. perch — the fish

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