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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 · squash · face · fall · suit · straw · bound · field

  1. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  2. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  3. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  4. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  5. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  6. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  7. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  8. That was ________________ to happen.
  9. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  10. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  11. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  12. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  13. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  14. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  15. When will it ________________ you to start?
  16. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  17. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  18. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  19. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  20. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  21. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  22. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  23. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  24. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.

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

Answer key

  1. patient — calm and waiting
  2. fall — to drop
  3. suit — clothes
  4. straw — to clutch at straws
  5. suit — in cards
  6. face — to confront
  7. squash — to crush
  8. bound — certain
  9. face — part of the head
  10. fall — the season
  11. patient — a sick person
  12. straw — a straw man
  13. bound — obliged
  14. field — for sport
  15. suit — to fit
  16. squash — the sport
  17. patient — a sick person
  18. bound — tied together
  19. field — a subject
  20. straw — dry grass
  21. fall — to drop
  22. squash — the vegetable
  23. field — farmland
  24. face — to point toward

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