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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 116 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: patient · cell · fork · object · field · wind · press · plane

  1. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  2. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  3. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  4. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  5. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  6. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  7. Did you ________________ the button?
  8. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  9. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  10. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  11. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  12. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  13. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  14. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  15. The ________________ took off on time.
  16. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  17. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  18. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  19. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  20. He was locked up in a ________________.
  21. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  22. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  23. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  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. field — for sport
  2. field — farmland
  3. wind — moving air
  4. patient — calm and waiting
  5. cell — in biology
  6. patient — a sick person
  7. press — to push
  8. fork — in a road
  9. plane — in geometry
  10. press — a publisher
  11. object — an aim
  12. fork — a garden tool
  13. field — a subject
  14. wind — moving air
  15. plane — an aircraft
  16. cell — a phone
  17. wind — to turn a key
  18. patient — a sick person
  19. plane — a tool
  20. cell — in a prison
  21. press — newspapers
  22. object — a thing
  23. fork — to eat with
  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