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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 120 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: hand · wave · board · patient · squash · field · spring · wake

  1. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  2. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  3. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  4. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  5. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  6. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  7. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  8. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  9. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  10. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  11. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  12. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  13. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  14. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  15. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  16. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  17. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  18. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  19. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  20. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  21. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  22. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  23. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  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. wake — to stop sleeping
  2. wave — a sudden rise
  3. wake — before a funeral
  4. patient — a sick person
  5. field — farmland
  6. board — a flat piece
  7. spring — of water
  8. spring — a coil
  9. hand — part of the body
  10. field — for sport
  11. wave — with your hand
  12. wave — of the sea
  13. squash — to crush
  14. spring — the season
  15. wake — a trail
  16. board — to get on
  17. patient — a sick person
  18. board — a committee
  19. hand — in cards
  20. field — a subject
  21. squash — the sport
  22. hand — help
  23. squash — the vegetable
  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