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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 120 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 · bat · field · pitcher · object · ground · file · saw

  1. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  2. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  3. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  4. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  5. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  6. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  7. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  8. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  9. She's very handy with a ________________.
  10. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  11. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  12. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  13. There's no middle ________________.
  14. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  15. He works in a ________________ mill.
  16. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  17. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  18. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  19. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  20. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  21. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  22. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  23. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  24. He is an ace ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — in an idiom
  2. object — to protest
  3. object — a thing
  4. patient — a sick person
  5. field — for sport
  6. file — a document
  7. bat — for baseball
  8. ground — crushed
  9. saw — the tool
  10. pitcher — a jug
  11. field — farmland
  12. pitcher — a jug
  13. ground — a position
  14. saw — past of 'see'
  15. saw — the tool
  16. patient — calm and waiting
  17. file — a line of people
  18. object — an aim
  19. bat — the animal
  20. field — a subject
  21. file — a tool
  22. patient — a sick person
  23. ground — the earth
  24. pitcher — in baseball

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