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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 · stem · season · spring · coach · sharp · bark · field

  1. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  2. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  3. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  4. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  5. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  6. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  7. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  8. Did you ________________ the meat?
  9. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  10. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  11. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  12. It's one o'clock ________________.
  13. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  14. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  15. Have you met the new head ________________?
  16. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  17. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  18. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  19. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  20. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  21. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  22. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  23. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  24. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?

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

Answer key

  1. field — a subject
  2. field — farmland
  3. coach — a trainer
  4. stem — a stem cell
  5. patient — a sick person
  6. spring — the season
  7. season — in sport
  8. season — to add flavour
  9. sharp — clever
  10. stem — to come from
  11. bark — a dog's sound
  12. sharp — exactly
  13. patient — calm and waiting
  14. spring — of water
  15. coach — a trainer
  16. field — for sport
  17. spring — a coil
  18. bark — of a tree
  19. patient — a sick person
  20. sharp — with an edge
  21. season — of the year
  22. stem — of a plant
  23. bark — to shout
  24. coach — pulled by horses

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