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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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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: kid · toast · mouse · patient · straw · field · cell · tear

  1. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  2. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  3. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  4. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  5. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  6. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  7. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  8. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  9. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  10. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  11. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  12. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  13. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  14. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  15. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  16. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  17. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  18. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  19. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  20. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  21. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  22. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  23. He was locked up in a ________________.
  24. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.

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

Answer key

  1. field — farmland
  2. patient — a sick person
  3. cell — a phone
  4. toast — the most admired
  5. toast — bread
  6. patient — calm and waiting
  7. tear — to rip
  8. field — a subject
  9. kid — child
  10. toast — a drink to someone
  11. field — for sport
  12. tear — from crying
  13. patient — a sick person
  14. straw — to clutch at straws
  15. mouse — for a computer
  16. mouse — the animal
  17. cell — in biology
  18. kid — to tease
  19. straw — dry grass
  20. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  21. mouse — the animal
  22. straw — a straw man
  23. cell — in a prison
  24. tear — from crying

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