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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 120 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 · field · firm · rash · stem · ground · lean · wind

  1. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  2. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  3. Don't do anything ________________.
  4. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  5. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  6. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  7. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  8. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  9. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  10. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  11. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  12. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  13. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  14. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  15. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  16. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  17. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  18. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  19. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  20. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  21. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  22. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  23. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  24. There's no middle ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. lean — thin
  2. field — a subject
  3. rash — hasty
  4. wind — moving air
  5. firm — decided
  6. patient — a sick person
  7. ground — crushed
  8. wind — moving air
  9. lean — to rest against
  10. patient — a sick person
  11. firm — a company
  12. patient — calm and waiting
  13. firm — steady
  14. stem — to come from
  15. stem — a stem cell
  16. lean — to bend
  17. stem — of a plant
  18. field — farmland
  19. field — for sport
  20. wind — to turn a key
  21. rash — on the skin
  22. rash — a series
  23. ground — the earth
  24. ground — a position

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