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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: ground · pound · patient · mate · swing · mine · field · chip

  1. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  2. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  3. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  4. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  5. There's no middle ________________.
  6. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  7. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  8. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  9. Have you found your soul ________________?
  10. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  11. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  12. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  13. David sat on the ________________.
  14. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  15. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  16. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  17. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  18. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  19. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  20. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  21. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  22. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  23. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  24. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?

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

Answer key

  1. patient — a sick person
  2. ground — the earth
  3. pound — a weight
  4. field — farmland
  5. ground — a position
  6. swing — music
  7. mine — belonging to me
  8. chip — to eat
  9. mate — a partner
  10. mate — to breed
  11. mine — for digging
  12. patient — calm and waiting
  13. swing — to play on
  14. pound — to hit hard
  15. pound — for dogs
  16. mine — an explosive
  17. field — a subject
  18. patient — a sick person
  19. ground — crushed
  20. field — for sport
  21. chip — in a computer
  22. swing — in golf
  23. chip — for betting
  24. mate — a friend

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