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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: field · current · hand · capital · face · bowl · patient · jam

  1. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  2. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  3. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  4. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  5. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  6. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  7. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  8. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  9. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  10. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  11. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  12. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  13. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  14. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  15. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  16. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  17. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  18. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  19. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  20. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  21. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  22. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  23. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  24. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.

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

Answer key

  1. jam — a tight spot
  2. field — a subject
  3. face — part of the head
  4. current — of water
  5. field — for sport
  6. patient — calm and waiting
  7. hand — part of the body
  8. face — to point toward
  9. current — electric
  10. capital — money
  11. capital — a city
  12. current — happening now
  13. hand — in cards
  14. bowl — to roll
  15. jam — in traffic
  16. field — farmland
  17. capital — a big letter
  18. bowl — a dish
  19. jam — to spread on bread
  20. patient — a sick person
  21. bowl — a football final
  22. hand — help
  23. patient — a sick person
  24. face — to confront

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