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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: patient · field · swing · bound · hand · lean · snap · capital

  1. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  2. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  3. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  4. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  5. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  6. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  7. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  8. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  9. That was ________________ to happen.
  10. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  11. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  12. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  13. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  14. David sat on the ________________.
  15. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  16. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  17. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  18. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  19. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  20. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  21. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  22. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  23. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  24. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.

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

Answer key

  1. bound — obliged
  2. swing — music
  3. hand — in cards
  4. patient — a sick person
  5. patient — a sick person
  6. snap — to speak sharply
  7. lean — thin
  8. field — farmland
  9. bound — certain
  10. swing — in golf
  11. hand — part of the body
  12. capital — a big letter
  13. capital — a city
  14. swing — to play on
  15. snap — to click
  16. lean — to rest against
  17. lean — to bend
  18. snap — to snap out of it
  19. hand — help
  20. field — a subject
  21. field — for sport
  22. bound — tied together
  23. capital — money
  24. patient — calm and waiting

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