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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: mug · rest · fan · patient · field · trunk · straw · cabinet

  1. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  2. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  3. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  4. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  5. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  6. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  7. Where did you ________________ them?
  8. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  9. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  10. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  11. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  12. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  13. What do you think of the new ________________?
  14. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  15. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  16. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  17. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  18. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  19. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  20. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  21. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  22. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  23. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  24. I've got the luggage in my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. patient — calm and waiting
  2. field — a subject
  3. fan — a supporter
  4. field — for sport
  5. straw — dry grass
  6. mug — a face
  7. mug — to rob
  8. rest — a break
  9. rest — what's left
  10. fan — a supporter
  11. rest — what's left
  12. field — farmland
  13. cabinet — ministers
  14. mug — a cup
  15. straw — to clutch at straws
  16. patient — a sick person
  17. fan — to cool the air
  18. straw — a straw man
  19. cabinet — ministers
  20. patient — a sick person
  21. cabinet — a cupboard
  22. trunk — of a tree
  23. trunk — of an elephant
  24. trunk — of a car

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