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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.

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: lean · field · content · land · bass · rest · pitch · patient

  1. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  2. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  3. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  4. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  5. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  6. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  7. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  8. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  9. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  10. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  11. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  12. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  13. When are we going to ________________?
  14. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  15. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  16. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  17. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  18. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  19. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  20. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  21. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  22. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  23. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  24. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.

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

Answer key

  1. lean — thin
  2. pitch — completely
  3. patient — calm and waiting
  4. patient — a sick person
  5. land — a country
  6. content — the amount
  7. pitch — a sales talk
  8. field — for sport
  9. bass — the instrument
  10. pitch — a sports field
  11. lean — to bend
  12. lean — to rest against
  13. land — to come down
  14. rest — what's left
  15. bass — the fish
  16. field — farmland
  17. rest — a break
  18. land — ground
  19. bass — low music
  20. content — videos and posts
  21. content — happy
  22. field — a subject
  23. patient — a sick person
  24. rest — what's left

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