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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: patient · kick · bear · jam · wound · field · last · bowl

  1. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  2. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  3. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  4. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  5. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  6. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  7. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  8. False peace will not ________________.
  9. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  10. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  11. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  12. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  13. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  14. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  15. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  16. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  17. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  18. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  19. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  20. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  21. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  22. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  23. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  24. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.

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

Answer key

  1. jam — a tight spot
  2. bear — the animal
  3. bowl — a dish
  4. last — final
  5. patient — a sick person
  6. field — a subject
  7. bear — to put up with
  8. last — to go on
  9. wound — past of 'wind'
  10. kick — a thrill
  11. patient — calm and waiting
  12. field — farmland
  13. patient — a sick person
  14. jam — in traffic
  15. kick — in football
  16. field — for sport
  17. wound — an injury
  18. bowl — to roll
  19. jam — to spread on bread
  20. bear — the animal
  21. wound — an injury
  22. bowl — a football final
  23. last — finally
  24. kick — with a leg

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