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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: band · present · pitcher · bass · patient · swing · mouse · field

  1. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  2. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  3. David sat on the ________________.
  4. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  5. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  6. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  7. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  8. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  9. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  10. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  11. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  12. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  13. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  14. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  15. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  16. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  17. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  18. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  19. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  20. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  21. He is an ace ________________.
  22. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  23. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  24. Fill up this ________________ with water.

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

Answer key

  1. field — farmland
  2. patient — a sick person
  3. swing — to play on
  4. bass — low music
  5. pitcher — a jug
  6. present — a gift
  7. band — a rubber band
  8. mouse — the animal
  9. field — a subject
  10. bass — the fish
  11. mouse — for a computer
  12. band — a music group
  13. swing — in golf
  14. bass — the instrument
  15. mouse — the animal
  16. patient — calm and waiting
  17. swing — music
  18. band — a ring
  19. field — for sport
  20. present — the time now
  21. pitcher — in baseball
  22. present — there
  23. patient — a sick person
  24. pitcher — a jug

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