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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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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: field · ground · patient · capital · bulb · last · wind · ruler

  1. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  2. I've got to change the light ________________.
  3. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  4. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  5. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  6. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  7. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  8. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  9. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  10. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  11. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  12. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  13. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  14. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  15. There's no middle ________________.
  16. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  17. The light ________________ burned out.
  18. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  19. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  20. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  21. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  22. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  23. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  24. False peace will not ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. field — a subject
  2. bulb — for light
  3. capital — a city
  4. patient — calm and waiting
  5. ground — the earth
  6. field — farmland
  7. last — finally
  8. wind — to turn a key
  9. wind — moving air
  10. wind — moving air
  11. capital — a big letter
  12. capital — money
  13. bulb — of a plant
  14. last — final
  15. ground — a position
  16. patient — a sick person
  17. bulb — for light
  18. ruler — a monarch
  19. patient — a sick person
  20. field — for sport
  21. ruler — for measuring
  22. ruler — for measuring
  23. ground — crushed
  24. last — to go on

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