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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: wound · face · patient · present · field · club · fan · current

  1. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  2. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  3. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  4. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  5. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  6. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  7. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  8. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  9. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  10. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  11. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  12. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  13. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  14. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  15. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  16. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  17. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  18. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  19. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  20. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  21. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  22. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  23. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  24. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.

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

Answer key

  1. club — for golf
  2. face — to confront
  3. wound — past of 'wind'
  4. field — for sport
  5. patient — calm and waiting
  6. fan — a supporter
  7. fan — to cool the air
  8. present — the time now
  9. patient — a sick person
  10. fan — a supporter
  11. club — for dancing
  12. wound — an injury
  13. current — happening now
  14. current — of water
  15. face — to point toward
  16. current — electric
  17. club — a group
  18. patient — a sick person
  19. face — part of the head
  20. wound — an injury
  21. field — farmland
  22. present — there
  23. present — a gift
  24. field — a subject

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