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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 · field · hide · can · date · hand · object · wound

  1. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  2. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  3. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  4. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  5. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  6. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  7. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  8. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  9. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  10. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  11. Have you settled on a ________________?
  12. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  13. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  14. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  15. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  16. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  17. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  18. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  19. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  20. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  21. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  22. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  23. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  24. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?

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

Answer key

  1. can — a tin
  2. hand — part of the body
  3. field — a subject
  4. field — for sport
  5. object — an aim
  6. can — a tin
  7. wound — an injury
  8. hide — to keep secret
  9. can — to be able to
  10. wound — past of 'wind'
  11. date — on the calendar
  12. hand — help
  13. patient — a sick person
  14. patient — calm and waiting
  15. hide — animal skin
  16. date — on the calendar
  17. hide — to keep secret
  18. field — farmland
  19. date — the fruit
  20. hand — in cards
  21. object — a thing
  22. patient — a sick person
  23. wound — an injury
  24. object — to protest

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