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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: craft · bank · nail · wound · field · tear · content · patient

  1. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  2. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  3. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  4. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  5. The ________________ went through the wall.
  6. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  7. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  8. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  9. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  10. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  11. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  12. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  13. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  14. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  15. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  16. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  17. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  18. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  19. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  20. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  21. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  22. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  23. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  24. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.

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

Answer key

  1. patient — calm and waiting
  2. bank — for money
  3. craft — a handicraft
  4. nail — for a hammer
  5. nail — for a hammer
  6. wound — past of 'wind'
  7. craft — boats
  8. wound — an injury
  9. field — for sport
  10. bank — of a river
  11. patient — a sick person
  12. tear — from crying
  13. craft — a skill
  14. content — the amount
  15. tear — to rip
  16. field — farmland
  17. content — happy
  18. wound — an injury
  19. nail — on a finger
  20. content — videos and posts
  21. field — a subject
  22. tear — from crying
  23. bank — for money
  24. patient — a sick person

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