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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: patient · stick · face · mate · stock · drill · field · last

  1. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  2. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  3. Have you found your soul ________________?
  4. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  5. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  6. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  7. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  8. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  9. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  10. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  11. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  12. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  13. The ________________ market has crashed.
  14. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  15. False peace will not ________________.
  16. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  17. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  18. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  19. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  20. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  21. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  22. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  23. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  24. What's the difference between broth and ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. mate — a friend
  2. stick — a piece of wood
  3. mate — a partner
  4. field — farmland
  5. field — a subject
  6. face — to confront
  7. stick — to attach or keep to
  8. mate — to breed
  9. field — for sport
  10. patient — calm and waiting
  11. stick — a piece of wood
  12. face — to point toward
  13. stock — shares
  14. face — part of the head
  15. last — to go on
  16. patient — a sick person
  17. drill — army training
  18. patient — a sick person
  19. last — final
  20. drill — a practice
  21. drill — the tool
  22. last — finally
  23. stock — goods
  24. stock — a soup base

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