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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.

Words on the sheet
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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: patient · lie · field · net · chest · ground · saw · chair

  1. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  2. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  3. He works in a ________________ mill.
  4. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  5. She's very handy with a ________________.
  6. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  7. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  8. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  9. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  10. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  11. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  12. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  13. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  14. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  15. There's no middle ________________.
  16. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  17. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  18. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  19. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  20. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  21. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  22. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  23. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  24. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. net — after costs
  2. lie — an untruth
  3. saw — the tool
  4. field — a subject
  5. saw — the tool
  6. saw — past of 'see'
  7. lie — to recline
  8. field — farmland
  9. patient — a sick person
  10. chest — of your body
  11. patient — a sick person
  12. chair — a professorship
  13. net — in sport
  14. net — for catching
  15. ground — a position
  16. chest — a box
  17. patient — calm and waiting
  18. lie — an untruth
  19. chair — a leader
  20. ground — the earth
  21. chair — to sit on
  22. field — for sport
  23. ground — crushed
  24. chest — of your body

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