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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: season · game · jam · patient · object · mug · field · face

  1. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  2. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  3. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  4. Where did you ________________ them?
  5. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  6. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  7. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  8. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  9. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  10. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  11. That was a fun ________________.
  12. Did you ________________ the meat?
  13. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  14. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  15. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  16. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  17. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  18. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  19. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  20. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  21. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  22. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  23. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  24. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. jam — to spread on bread
  2. field — farmland
  3. face — to point toward
  4. mug — to rob
  5. patient — a sick person
  6. mug — a face
  7. object — to protest
  8. game — a kind of play
  9. field — for sport
  10. mug — a cup
  11. game — a match
  12. season — to add flavour
  13. patient — calm and waiting
  14. object — a thing
  15. jam — a tight spot
  16. season — in sport
  17. object — an aim
  18. field — a subject
  19. face — to confront
  20. jam — in traffic
  21. patient — a sick person
  22. face — part of the head
  23. season — of the year
  24. game — wild animals

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