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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.

Words on the sheet
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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: march · patient · file · craft · bound · field · rash · wind

  1. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  2. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  3. That was ________________ to happen.
  4. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  5. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  6. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  7. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  8. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  9. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  10. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  11. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  12. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  13. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  14. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  15. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  16. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  17. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  18. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  19. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  20. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  21. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  22. Don't do anything ________________.
  23. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  24. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — to turn a key
  2. field — farmland
  3. bound — certain
  4. patient — calm and waiting
  5. file — a tool
  6. field — for sport
  7. file — a line of people
  8. craft — boats
  9. file — a document
  10. patient — a sick person
  11. march — the month
  12. craft — a skill
  13. wind — moving air
  14. patient — a sick person
  15. bound — obliged
  16. rash — on the skin
  17. field — a subject
  18. bound — tied together
  19. rash — a series
  20. craft — a handicraft
  21. wind — moving air
  22. rash — hasty
  23. march — the month
  24. march — music

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