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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 120 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: bat · band · firm · patient · rule · file · field · stem

  1. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  2. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  3. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  4. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  5. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  6. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  7. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  8. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  9. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  10. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  11. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  12. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  13. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  14. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  15. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  16. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  17. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  18. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  19. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  20. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  21. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  22. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  23. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  24. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.

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

Answer key

  1. field — for sport
  2. rule — government
  3. stem — a stem cell
  4. field — farmland
  5. bat — the animal
  6. firm — steady
  7. patient — a sick person
  8. file — a line of people
  9. band — a music group
  10. field — a subject
  11. band — a ring
  12. rule — to rule out
  13. file — a tool
  14. rule — a law
  15. stem — of a plant
  16. firm — decided
  17. firm — a company
  18. bat — in an idiom
  19. band — a rubber band
  20. file — a document
  21. patient — a sick person
  22. bat — for baseball
  23. stem — to come from
  24. patient — calm and waiting

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