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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: mark · chest · patient · field · content · game · cabinet · perch

  1. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  2. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  3. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  4. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  5. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  6. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  7. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  8. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  9. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  10. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  11. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  12. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  13. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  14. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  15. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  16. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  17. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  18. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  19. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  20. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  21. That was a fun ________________.
  22. What do you think of the new ________________?
  23. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  24. She got the top ________________ in the exam.

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

Answer key

  1. patient — a sick person
  2. mark — a trace
  3. patient — calm and waiting
  4. perch — for a bird
  5. mark — to pay attention
  6. game — a kind of play
  7. chest — of your body
  8. perch — the fish
  9. field — a subject
  10. patient — a sick person
  11. game — wild animals
  12. cabinet — a cupboard
  13. field — for sport
  14. content — the amount
  15. chest — a box
  16. cabinet — ministers
  17. chest — of your body
  18. content — happy
  19. perch — for a bird
  20. content — videos and posts
  21. game — a match
  22. cabinet — ministers
  23. field — farmland
  24. mark — a grade

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