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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: wound · cell · patient · field · racket · ground · foot · present

  1. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  2. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  3. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  4. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  5. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  6. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  7. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  8. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  9. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  10. There's no middle ________________.
  11. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  12. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  13. He was locked up in a ________________.
  14. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  15. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  16. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  17. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  18. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  19. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  20. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  21. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  22. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  23. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  24. I have a corn on my right ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. field — farmland
  2. field — for sport
  3. racket — a loud noise
  4. ground — crushed
  5. present — there
  6. present — a gift
  7. racket — for tennis
  8. patient — calm and waiting
  9. ground — the earth
  10. ground — a position
  11. patient — a sick person
  12. cell — in biology
  13. cell — in a prison
  14. foot — the bottom
  15. wound — an injury
  16. cell — a phone
  17. racket — for tennis
  18. wound — past of 'wind'
  19. field — a subject
  20. foot — a measure
  21. patient — a sick person
  22. present — the time now
  23. wound — an injury
  24. foot — part of the body

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