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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
468
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: swing · patient · game · mine · field · leaves · staff · lie

  1. That was a fun ________________.
  2. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  3. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  4. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  5. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  6. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  7. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  8. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  9. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  10. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  11. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  12. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  13. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  14. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  15. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  16. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  17. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  18. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  19. David sat on the ________________.
  20. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  21. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  22. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  23. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  24. The ________________ change colour in autumn.

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

Answer key

  1. game — a match
  2. patient — a sick person
  3. game — wild animals
  4. game — a kind of play
  5. staff — a stick
  6. patient — calm and waiting
  7. field — for sport
  8. swing — in golf
  9. swing — music
  10. lie — to recline
  11. mine — an explosive
  12. field — farmland
  13. staff — employees
  14. leaves — lets stay
  15. lie — an untruth
  16. field — a subject
  17. mine — for digging
  18. lie — an untruth
  19. swing — to play on
  20. leaves — to go away
  21. patient — a sick person
  22. mine — belonging to me
  23. staff — employees
  24. leaves — of a tree

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