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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: field · patient · squash · date · bank · game · wind · rush

  1. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  2. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  3. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  4. Have you settled on a ________________?
  5. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  6. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  7. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  8. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  9. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  10. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  11. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  12. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  13. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  14. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  15. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  16. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  17. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  18. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  19. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  20. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  21. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  22. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  23. That must've been a ________________.
  24. That was a fun ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. field — for sport
  2. patient — a sick person
  3. wind — to turn a key
  4. date — on the calendar
  5. rush — to hurry
  6. game — a kind of play
  7. patient — a sick person
  8. wind — moving air
  9. rush — hurry
  10. squash — to crush
  11. squash — the sport
  12. bank — of a river
  13. field — a subject
  14. squash — the vegetable
  15. patient — calm and waiting
  16. wind — moving air
  17. game — wild animals
  18. bank — for money
  19. date — on the calendar
  20. field — farmland
  21. date — the fruit
  22. bank — for money
  23. rush — a thrill
  24. game — a match

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