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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: spring · field · patient · racket · current · ground · nail · fork

  1. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  2. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  3. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  4. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  5. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  6. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  7. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  8. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  9. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  10. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  11. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  12. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  13. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  14. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  15. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  16. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  17. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  18. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  19. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  20. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  21. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  22. The ________________ went through the wall.
  23. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  24. There's no middle ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. patient — a sick person
  2. field — a subject
  3. current — happening now
  4. ground — crushed
  5. spring — the season
  6. fork — a garden tool
  7. nail — for a hammer
  8. current — of water
  9. field — for sport
  10. field — farmland
  11. racket — a loud noise
  12. spring — of water
  13. racket — for tennis
  14. fork — in a road
  15. fork — to eat with
  16. ground — the earth
  17. current — electric
  18. patient — calm and waiting
  19. racket — for tennis
  20. nail — on a finger
  21. spring — a coil
  22. nail — for a hammer
  23. patient — a sick person
  24. ground — a position

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