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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 · fall · fine · field · wound · patient · craft · squash

  1. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  2. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  3. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  4. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  5. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  6. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  7. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  8. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  9. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  10. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  11. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  12. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  13. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  14. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  15. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  16. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  17. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  18. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  19. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  20. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  21. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  22. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  23. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  24. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.

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

Answer key

  1. patient — calm and waiting
  2. patient — a sick person
  3. fine — high quality
  4. field — a subject
  5. hand — part of the body
  6. fall — the season
  7. craft — a handicraft
  8. squash — the vegetable
  9. field — farmland
  10. field — for sport
  11. craft — boats
  12. squash — to crush
  13. patient — a sick person
  14. fall — to drop
  15. wound — an injury
  16. wound — past of 'wind'
  17. fine — a penalty
  18. fine — all right
  19. hand — help
  20. craft — a skill
  21. squash — the sport
  22. wound — an injury
  23. hand — in cards
  24. fall — to drop

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