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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: bank · ball · pop · patient · field · cold · game · bulb

  1. You don't need to ________________ round.
  2. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  3. That was a fun ________________.
  4. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  5. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  6. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  7. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  8. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  9. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  10. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  11. The light ________________ burned out.
  12. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  13. I've got to change the light ________________.
  14. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  15. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  16. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  17. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  18. We're almost out of ________________.
  19. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  20. The water is too ________________.
  21. The King held a masked ________________.
  22. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  23. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  24. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pop — to visit
  2. patient — calm and waiting
  3. game — a match
  4. field — a subject
  5. cold — the Cold War
  6. bulb — of a plant
  7. patient — a sick person
  8. pop — music
  9. bank — for money
  10. field — farmland
  11. bulb — for light
  12. field — for sport
  13. bulb — for light
  14. game — wild animals
  15. cold — an illness
  16. bank — for money
  17. patient — a sick person
  18. pop — soda
  19. ball — a round shape
  20. cold — not warm
  21. ball — a dance
  22. ball — a great time
  23. game — a kind of play
  24. bank — of a river

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