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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: jam · field · patient · rest · ground · kid · plane · date

  1. The ________________ took off on time.
  2. There's no middle ________________.
  3. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  4. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  5. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  6. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  7. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  8. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  9. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  10. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  11. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  12. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  13. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  14. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  15. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  16. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  17. Have you settled on a ________________?
  18. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  19. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  20. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  21. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  22. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  23. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  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. plane — an aircraft
  2. ground — a position
  3. field — farmland
  4. patient — a sick person
  5. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  6. date — on the calendar
  7. ground — crushed
  8. jam — in traffic
  9. ground — the earth
  10. rest — what's left
  11. plane — a tool
  12. field — a subject
  13. rest — what's left
  14. jam — to spread on bread
  15. field — for sport
  16. kid — to tease
  17. date — on the calendar
  18. rest — a break
  19. kid — child
  20. plane — in geometry
  21. jam — a tight spot
  22. date — the fruit
  23. patient — a sick person
  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