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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: bass · ground · squash · patient · wound · bound · field · stand

  1. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  2. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  3. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  4. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  5. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  6. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  7. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  8. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  9. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  10. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  11. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  12. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  13. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  14. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  15. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  16. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  17. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  18. I can't ________________ this cold.
  19. There's no middle ________________.
  20. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  21. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  22. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  23. That was ________________ to happen.
  24. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.

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

Answer key

  1. patient — calm and waiting
  2. bass — the fish
  3. squash — the vegetable
  4. bound — obliged
  5. bass — the instrument
  6. field — for sport
  7. wound — an injury
  8. wound — an injury
  9. bound — tied together
  10. ground — crushed
  11. squash — the sport
  12. squash — to crush
  13. patient — a sick person
  14. patient — a sick person
  15. stand — for spectators
  16. wound — past of 'wind'
  17. field — a subject
  18. stand — to bear
  19. ground — a position
  20. field — farmland
  21. ground — the earth
  22. bass — low music
  23. bound — certain
  24. stand — on your feet

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