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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.

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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 · cap · field · craft · mug · bank · cold · net

  1. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  2. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  3. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  4. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  5. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  6. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  7. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  8. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  9. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  10. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  11. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  12. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  13. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  14. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  15. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  16. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  17. Where did you ________________ them?
  18. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  19. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  20. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  21. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  22. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  23. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  24. The water is too ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. patient — a sick person
  2. bank — of a river
  3. bank — for money
  4. craft — a skill
  5. patient — calm and waiting
  6. cold — the Cold War
  7. field — a subject
  8. patient — a sick person
  9. cap — a lid
  10. cap — of ice
  11. field — for sport
  12. craft — boats
  13. mug — a cup
  14. cap — a hat
  15. net — for catching
  16. craft — a handicraft
  17. mug — to rob
  18. field — farmland
  19. net — after costs
  20. bank — for money
  21. cold — an illness
  22. net — in sport
  23. mug — a face
  24. cold — not warm

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