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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 120 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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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: lash · mate · patient · pound · field · branch · swing · ground

  1. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  2. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  3. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  4. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  5. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  6. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  7. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  8. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  9. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  10. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  11. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  12. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  13. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  14. There's no middle ________________.
  15. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  16. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  17. David sat on the ________________.
  18. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  19. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  20. Have you found your soul ________________?
  21. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  22. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  23. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  24. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — to breed
  2. pound — a weight
  3. mate — a friend
  4. field — farmland
  5. pound — to hit hard
  6. branch — a division
  7. branch — of a bank
  8. field — for sport
  9. lash — an eyelash
  10. field — a subject
  11. branch — of a tree
  12. patient — calm and waiting
  13. pound — for dogs
  14. ground — a position
  15. patient — a sick person
  16. swing — in golf
  17. swing — to play on
  18. ground — crushed
  19. swing — music
  20. mate — a partner
  21. ground — the earth
  22. patient — a sick person
  23. lash — a whip stroke
  24. lash — to lash out

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