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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
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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 · club · hand · rest · field · row · mark · board

  1. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  2. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  3. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  4. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  5. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  6. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  7. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  8. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  9. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  10. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  11. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  12. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  13. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  14. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  15. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  16. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  17. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  18. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  19. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  20. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  21. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  22. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  23. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  24. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.

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

Answer key

  1. field — a subject
  2. row — a quarrel
  3. rest — a break
  4. field — for sport
  5. board — a committee
  6. mark — a trace
  7. hand — part of the body
  8. hand — in cards
  9. board — a flat piece
  10. rest — what's left
  11. rest — what's left
  12. board — to get on
  13. field — farmland
  14. club — for golf
  15. hand — help
  16. mark — to pay attention
  17. mark — a grade
  18. patient — calm and waiting
  19. patient — a sick person
  20. row — to paddle
  21. patient — a sick person
  22. club — a group
  23. club — for dancing
  24. row — a line

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