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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: field · bear · patient · craft · shower · rest · wound · bat

  1. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  2. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  3. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  4. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  5. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  6. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  7. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  8. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  9. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  10. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  11. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  12. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  13. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  14. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  15. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  16. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  17. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  18. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  19. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  20. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  21. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  22. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  23. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  24. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — in an idiom
  2. rest — a break
  3. bear — the animal
  4. wound — an injury
  5. shower — a meteor shower
  6. craft — a skill
  7. field — a subject
  8. field — for sport
  9. wound — an injury
  10. field — farmland
  11. shower — to wash
  12. shower — rain
  13. patient — calm and waiting
  14. bear — the animal
  15. rest — what's left
  16. bat — the animal
  17. rest — what's left
  18. patient — a sick person
  19. wound — past of 'wind'
  20. bear — to put up with
  21. bat — for baseball
  22. craft — a handicraft
  23. patient — a sick person
  24. craft — boats

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