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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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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: fall · patient · wind · cell · leaves · foot · club · field

  1. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  2. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  3. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  4. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  5. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  6. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  7. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  8. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  9. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  10. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  11. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  12. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  13. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  14. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  15. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  16. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  17. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  18. He was locked up in a ________________.
  19. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  20. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  21. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  22. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  23. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  24. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.

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

Answer key

  1. foot — a measure
  2. field — a subject
  3. leaves — of a tree
  4. cell — in biology
  5. wind — moving air
  6. fall — to drop
  7. foot — part of the body
  8. club — for golf
  9. foot — the bottom
  10. field — farmland
  11. fall — to drop
  12. patient — a sick person
  13. club — a group
  14. leaves — lets stay
  15. leaves — to go away
  16. cell — a phone
  17. field — for sport
  18. cell — in a prison
  19. wind — to turn a key
  20. patient — a sick person
  21. patient — calm and waiting
  22. fall — the season
  23. wind — moving air
  24. club — for dancing

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