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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: can · wake · game · race · lean · patient · net · field

  1. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  2. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  3. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  4. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  5. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  6. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  7. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  8. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  9. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  10. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  11. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  12. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  13. That was a fun ________________.
  14. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  15. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  16. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  17. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  18. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  19. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  20. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  21. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  22. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  23. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  24. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.

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

Answer key

  1. lean — thin
  2. net — in sport
  3. race — a contest
  4. field — a subject
  5. game — a kind of play
  6. can — to be able to
  7. field — for sport
  8. net — for catching
  9. net — after costs
  10. race — humankind
  11. patient — a sick person
  12. wake — before a funeral
  13. game — a match
  14. patient — a sick person
  15. can — a tin
  16. patient — calm and waiting
  17. wake — a trail
  18. race — the arms race
  19. field — farmland
  20. can — a tin
  21. game — wild animals
  22. lean — to rest against
  23. lean — to bend
  24. wake — to stop sleeping

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