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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: date · game · field · patient · spring · suit · staff · last

  1. When will it ________________ you to start?
  2. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  3. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  4. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  5. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  6. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  7. False peace will not ________________.
  8. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  9. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  10. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  11. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  12. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  13. That was a fun ________________.
  14. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  15. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  16. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  17. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  18. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  19. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  20. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  21. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  22. Have you settled on a ________________?
  23. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  24. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. suit — to fit
  2. field — a subject
  3. date — on the calendar
  4. suit — clothes
  5. spring — the season
  6. patient — a sick person
  7. last — to go on
  8. staff — a stick
  9. spring — of water
  10. game — wild animals
  11. game — a kind of play
  12. last — finally
  13. game — a match
  14. patient — a sick person
  15. patient — calm and waiting
  16. spring — a coil
  17. last — final
  18. date — the fruit
  19. staff — employees
  20. field — farmland
  21. field — for sport
  22. date — on the calendar
  23. staff — employees
  24. suit — in cards

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