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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 116 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 · field · stem · chair · shower · pit · tube · craft

  1. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  2. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  3. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  4. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  5. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  6. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  7. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  8. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  9. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  10. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  11. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  12. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  13. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  14. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  15. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  16. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  17. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  18. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  19. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  20. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  21. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  22. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  23. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  24. I'll be taking the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a leader
  2. craft — a handicraft
  3. field — for sport
  4. field — a subject
  5. pit — a hole
  6. chair — to sit on
  7. patient — calm and waiting
  8. shower — a meteor shower
  9. stem — of a plant
  10. craft — boats
  11. craft — a skill
  12. shower — to wash
  13. pit — a fruit stone
  14. tube — a container
  15. field — farmland
  16. shower — rain
  17. pit — in a race
  18. chair — a professorship
  19. patient — a sick person
  20. stem — a stem cell
  21. patient — a sick person
  22. stem — to come from
  23. tube — in a tire
  24. tube — the underground

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