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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 116 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: patient · ground · field · chip · wound · ball · racket · swing

  1. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  2. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  3. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  4. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  5. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  6. The King held a masked ________________.
  7. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  8. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  9. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  10. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  11. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  12. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  13. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  14. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  15. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  16. There's no middle ________________.
  17. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  18. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  19. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  20. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  21. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  22. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  23. David sat on the ________________.
  24. The kitten curled into a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — past of 'wind'
  2. racket — a loud noise
  3. ball — a great time
  4. chip — in a computer
  5. patient — a sick person
  6. ball — a dance
  7. swing — in golf
  8. field — a subject
  9. ground — crushed
  10. wound — an injury
  11. patient — a sick person
  12. patient — calm and waiting
  13. swing — music
  14. racket — for tennis
  15. field — farmland
  16. ground — a position
  17. wound — an injury
  18. chip — for betting
  19. chip — to eat
  20. racket — for tennis
  21. ground — the earth
  22. field — for sport
  23. swing — to play on
  24. ball — a round shape

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