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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.

Words on the sheet
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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: field · land · calf · capital · mine · patient · content · net

  1. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  2. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  3. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  4. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  5. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  6. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  7. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  8. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  9. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  10. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  11. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  12. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  13. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  14. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  15. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  16. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  17. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  18. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  19. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  20. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  21. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  22. When are we going to ________________?
  23. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  24. He had ________________ pain while walking.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — for digging
  2. net — in sport
  3. land — a country
  4. patient — calm and waiting
  5. mine — belonging to me
  6. content — the amount
  7. field — for sport
  8. net — after costs
  9. calf — a young animal
  10. net — for catching
  11. field — a subject
  12. capital — a city
  13. patient — a sick person
  14. capital — a big letter
  15. patient — a sick person
  16. capital — money
  17. content — happy
  18. content — videos and posts
  19. mine — an explosive
  20. field — farmland
  21. land — ground
  22. land — to come down
  23. calf — a young animal
  24. calf — of the leg

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