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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 · drill · mate · bat · mine · chip · fall · field

  1. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  2. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  3. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  4. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  5. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  6. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  7. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  8. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  9. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  10. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  11. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  12. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  13. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  14. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  15. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  16. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  17. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  18. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  19. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  20. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  21. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  22. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  23. Have you found your soul ________________?
  24. There's a computer ________________ on the table.

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

Answer key

  1. patient — a sick person
  2. fall — to drop
  3. fall — the season
  4. fall — to drop
  5. field — a subject
  6. bat — for baseball
  7. mate — to breed
  8. mine — for digging
  9. drill — the tool
  10. mate — a friend
  11. drill — army training
  12. bat — in an idiom
  13. chip — for betting
  14. drill — a practice
  15. mine — belonging to me
  16. chip — to eat
  17. bat — the animal
  18. field — farmland
  19. field — for sport
  20. mine — an explosive
  21. patient — calm and waiting
  22. patient — a sick person
  23. mate — a partner
  24. chip — in a computer

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