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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 · date · saw · safe · present · pound · field · trunk

  1. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  2. Have you settled on a ________________?
  3. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  4. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  5. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  6. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  7. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  8. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  9. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  10. She's very handy with a ________________.
  11. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  12. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  13. He works in a ________________ mill.
  14. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  15. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  16. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  17. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  18. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  19. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  20. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  21. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  22. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  23. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  24. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.

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

Answer key

  1. field — farmland
  2. date — on the calendar
  3. trunk — of a car
  4. safe — a strongbox
  5. pound — for dogs
  6. safe — out of danger
  7. saw — past of 'see'
  8. present — a gift
  9. patient — calm and waiting
  10. saw — the tool
  11. pound — to hit hard
  12. field — a subject
  13. saw — the tool
  14. patient — a sick person
  15. trunk — of a tree
  16. date — the fruit
  17. present — the time now
  18. patient — a sick person
  19. date — on the calendar
  20. field — for sport
  21. trunk — of an elephant
  22. pound — a weight
  23. safe — out of danger
  24. present — there

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