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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: bat · fine · wave · field · patient · march · degree · swing

  1. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  2. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  3. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  4. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  5. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  6. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  7. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  8. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  9. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  10. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  11. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  12. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  13. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  14. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  15. David sat on the ________________.
  16. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  17. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  18. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  19. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  20. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  21. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  22. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  23. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  24. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.

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

Answer key

  1. field — for sport
  2. patient — a sick person
  3. bat — for baseball
  4. march — music
  5. wave — of the sea
  6. field — a subject
  7. degree — from a university
  8. bat — in an idiom
  9. fine — a penalty
  10. patient — calm and waiting
  11. field — farmland
  12. march — the month
  13. fine — all right
  14. wave — with your hand
  15. swing — to play on
  16. march — the month
  17. patient — a sick person
  18. degree — temperature
  19. degree — an amount
  20. bat — the animal
  21. swing — in golf
  22. swing — music
  23. fine — high quality
  24. wave — a sudden rise

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