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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: row · season · wax · pitcher · ground · patient · field · arm

  1. My father caught me by the ________________.
  2. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  3. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  4. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  5. Did you ________________ the meat?
  6. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  7. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  8. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  9. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  10. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  11. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  12. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  13. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  14. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  15. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  16. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  17. He is an ace ________________.
  18. There's no middle ________________.
  19. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  20. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  21. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  22. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  23. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  24. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. arm — part of the body
  2. ground — crushed
  3. patient — a sick person
  4. row — a line
  5. season — to add flavour
  6. arm — a part of something
  7. ground — the earth
  8. field — a subject
  9. season — in sport
  10. field — for sport
  11. wax — to grow
  12. pitcher — a jug
  13. field — farmland
  14. patient — calm and waiting
  15. patient — a sick person
  16. season — of the year
  17. pitcher — in baseball
  18. ground — a position
  19. row — to paddle
  20. wax — for sculpting
  21. row — a quarrel
  22. arm — part of the body
  23. pitcher — a jug
  24. wax — in the ear

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