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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: rush · board · mine · bass · patient · last · pitch · field

  1. False peace will not ________________.
  2. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  3. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  4. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  5. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  6. That must've been a ________________.
  7. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  8. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  9. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  10. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  11. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  12. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  13. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  14. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  15. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  16. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  17. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  18. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  19. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  20. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  21. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  22. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  23. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  24. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. last — to go on
  2. mine — belonging to me
  3. patient — calm and waiting
  4. patient — a sick person
  5. board — a committee
  6. rush — a thrill
  7. bass — low music
  8. mine — for digging
  9. mine — an explosive
  10. bass — the fish
  11. bass — the instrument
  12. rush — hurry
  13. pitch — a sales talk
  14. patient — a sick person
  15. pitch — a sports field
  16. board — to get on
  17. field — a subject
  18. last — finally
  19. pitch — completely
  20. rush — to hurry
  21. field — farmland
  22. last — final
  23. board — a flat piece
  24. field — for sport

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