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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: charge · field · bass · stock · patient · season · mate · deal

  1. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  2. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  3. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  4. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  5. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  6. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  7. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  8. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  9. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  10. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  11. Have you found your soul ________________?
  12. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  13. Did you ________________ the meat?
  14. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  15. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  16. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  17. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  18. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  19. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  20. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  21. The ________________ market has crashed.
  22. The tickets are free of ________________.
  23. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  24. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.

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

Answer key

  1. field — farmland
  2. mate — to breed
  3. deal — a big deal
  4. bass — the fish
  5. bass — low music
  6. deal — an agreement
  7. patient — calm and waiting
  8. stock — a soup base
  9. charge — electricity
  10. patient — a sick person
  11. mate — a partner
  12. stock — goods
  13. season — to add flavour
  14. mate — a friend
  15. field — for sport
  16. season — of the year
  17. season — in sport
  18. bass — the instrument
  19. deal — to handle
  20. charge — in control
  21. stock — shares
  22. charge — a price
  23. patient — a sick person
  24. field — a subject

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