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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: craft · bank · patient · cell · net · stock · rash · field

  1. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  2. The ________________ market has crashed.
  3. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  4. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  5. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  6. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  7. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  8. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  9. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  10. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  11. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  12. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  13. Don't do anything ________________.
  14. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  15. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  16. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  17. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  18. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  19. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  20. He was locked up in a ________________.
  21. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  22. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  23. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  24. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. field — a subject
  2. stock — shares
  3. net — after costs
  4. bank — for money
  5. net — in sport
  6. craft — a handicraft
  7. bank — of a river
  8. stock — goods
  9. field — farmland
  10. craft — a skill
  11. patient — calm and waiting
  12. craft — boats
  13. rash — hasty
  14. patient — a sick person
  15. cell — a phone
  16. cell — in biology
  17. rash — a series
  18. bank — for money
  19. stock — a soup base
  20. cell — in a prison
  21. net — for catching
  22. rash — on the skin
  23. field — for sport
  24. patient — a sick person

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