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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: ruler · field · patient · pitcher · rush · bowl · stock · tear

  1. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  2. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  3. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  4. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  5. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  6. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  7. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  8. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  9. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  10. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  11. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  12. He is an ace ________________.
  13. The ________________ market has crashed.
  14. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  15. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  16. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  17. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  18. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  19. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  20. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  21. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  22. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  23. That must've been a ________________.
  24. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — a dish
  2. tear — from crying
  3. pitcher — a jug
  4. field — for sport
  5. stock — goods
  6. ruler — for measuring
  7. patient — a sick person
  8. patient — a sick person
  9. ruler — a monarch
  10. tear — to rip
  11. field — a subject
  12. pitcher — in baseball
  13. stock — shares
  14. patient — calm and waiting
  15. rush — hurry
  16. tear — from crying
  17. pitcher — a jug
  18. bowl — to roll
  19. stock — a soup base
  20. rush — to hurry
  21. bowl — a football final
  22. ruler — for measuring
  23. rush — a thrill
  24. field — farmland

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