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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: bark · field · patient · last · date · game · nail · rash

  1. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  2. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  3. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  4. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  5. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  6. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  7. The ________________ went through the wall.
  8. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  9. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  10. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  11. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  12. Don't do anything ________________.
  13. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  14. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  15. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  16. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  17. False peace will not ________________.
  18. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  19. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  20. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  21. That was a fun ________________.
  22. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  23. Have you settled on a ________________?
  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. patient — calm and waiting
  2. field — a subject
  3. patient — a sick person
  4. date — on the calendar
  5. field — farmland
  6. rash — on the skin
  7. nail — for a hammer
  8. bark — a dog's sound
  9. game — a kind of play
  10. date — the fruit
  11. rash — a series
  12. rash — hasty
  13. last — finally
  14. patient — a sick person
  15. nail — on a finger
  16. nail — for a hammer
  17. last — to go on
  18. field — for sport
  19. bark — to shout
  20. bark — of a tree
  21. game — a match
  22. last — final
  23. date — on the calendar
  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