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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 · safe · stand · field · clip · content · bank · date

  1. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  2. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  3. I can't ________________ this cold.
  4. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  5. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  6. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  7. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  8. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  9. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  10. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  11. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  12. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  13. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  14. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  15. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  16. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  17. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  18. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  19. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  20. Have you settled on a ________________?
  21. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  22. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  23. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  24. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. safe — out of danger
  2. content — the amount
  3. stand — to bear
  4. bank — for money
  5. field — a subject
  6. bank — for money
  7. safe — out of danger
  8. content — happy
  9. field — farmland
  10. clip — for paper
  11. content — videos and posts
  12. stand — on your feet
  13. stand — for spectators
  14. safe — a strongbox
  15. patient — a sick person
  16. field — for sport
  17. date — on the calendar
  18. clip — to cut
  19. date — the fruit
  20. date — on the calendar
  21. patient — a sick person
  22. bank — of a river
  23. patient — calm and waiting
  24. clip — a video

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