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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
468
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: cell · press · rash · patient · field · fork · game · march

  1. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  2. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  3. That was a fun ________________.
  4. Don't do anything ________________.
  5. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  6. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  7. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  8. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  9. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  10. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  11. Did you ________________ the button?
  12. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  13. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  14. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  15. He was locked up in a ________________.
  16. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  17. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  18. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  19. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  20. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  21. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  22. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  23. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  24. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.

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

Answer key

  1. rash — on the skin
  2. patient — calm and waiting
  3. game — a match
  4. rash — hasty
  5. patient — a sick person
  6. game — a kind of play
  7. march — the month
  8. field — a subject
  9. field — farmland
  10. game — wild animals
  11. press — to push
  12. fork — in a road
  13. press — a publisher
  14. patient — a sick person
  15. cell — in a prison
  16. fork — to eat with
  17. field — for sport
  18. cell — a phone
  19. press — newspapers
  20. cell — in biology
  21. march — the month
  22. rash — a series
  23. march — music
  24. fork — a garden tool

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