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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: rock · field · spring · capital · board · bass · stand · patient

  1. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  2. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  3. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  4. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  5. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  6. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  7. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  8. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  9. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  10. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  11. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  12. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  13. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  14. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  15. I can't ________________ this cold.
  16. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  17. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  18. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  19. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  20. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  21. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  22. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  23. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  24. Beijing is the ________________ of China.

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

Answer key

  1. field — a subject
  2. capital — money
  3. board — a flat piece
  4. spring — a coil
  5. field — for sport
  6. rock — to move gently
  7. board — to get on
  8. board — a committee
  9. stand — for spectators
  10. patient — calm and waiting
  11. patient — a sick person
  12. rock — music
  13. spring — the season
  14. rock — a stone
  15. stand — to bear
  16. capital — a big letter
  17. patient — a sick person
  18. bass — the fish
  19. bass — low music
  20. spring — of water
  21. bass — the instrument
  22. field — farmland
  23. stand — on your feet
  24. capital — a city

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