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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: ball · straw · row · patient · bowl · field · bay · drill

  1. The King held a masked ________________.
  2. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  3. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  4. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  5. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  6. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  7. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  8. My mare is ________________ in color.
  9. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  10. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  11. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  12. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  13. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  14. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  15. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  16. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  17. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  18. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  19. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  20. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  21. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  22. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  23. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  24. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.

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

Answer key

  1. ball — a dance
  2. drill — army training
  3. straw — to clutch at straws
  4. bowl — to roll
  5. patient — a sick person
  6. ball — a great time
  7. straw — dry grass
  8. bay — a horse colour
  9. bowl — a dish
  10. field — farmland
  11. patient — a sick person
  12. field — for sport
  13. bowl — a football final
  14. straw — a straw man
  15. row — to paddle
  16. drill — a practice
  17. row — a quarrel
  18. bay — to keep at bay
  19. ball — a round shape
  20. drill — the tool
  21. bay — a part of the sea
  22. row — a line
  23. patient — calm and waiting
  24. field — a subject

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