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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: hand · wave · patient · sharp · land · mug · field · bay

  1. Where did you ________________ them?
  2. When are we going to ________________?
  3. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  4. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  5. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  6. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  7. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  8. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  9. It's one o'clock ________________.
  10. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  11. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  12. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  13. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  14. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  15. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  16. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  17. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  18. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  19. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  20. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  21. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  22. My mare is ________________ in color.
  23. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  24. Do you need a ________________ with that?

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

Answer key

  1. mug — to rob
  2. land — to come down
  3. hand — part of the body
  4. sharp — with an edge
  5. wave — with your hand
  6. mug — a cup
  7. hand — in cards
  8. bay — a part of the sea
  9. sharp — exactly
  10. field — farmland
  11. field — a subject
  12. patient — a sick person
  13. wave — a sudden rise
  14. patient — a sick person
  15. field — for sport
  16. land — a country
  17. patient — calm and waiting
  18. bay — to keep at bay
  19. wave — of the sea
  20. sharp — clever
  21. land — ground
  22. bay — a horse colour
  23. mug — a face
  24. hand — help

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