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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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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: pound · current · patient · racket · cap · tear

  1. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  2. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  3. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  4. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  5. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  6. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  7. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  8. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  9. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  10. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  11. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  12. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  13. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  14. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  15. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  16. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  17. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  18. He hit the ball with his ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. racket — a loud noise
  3. current — happening now
  4. tear — from crying
  5. current — electric
  6. pound — to hit hard
  7. tear — to rip
  8. racket — for tennis
  9. patient — a sick person
  10. current — of water
  11. cap — a hat
  12. cap — a lid
  13. pound — a weight
  14. patient — a sick person
  15. pound — for dogs
  16. patient — calm and waiting
  17. cap — of ice
  18. racket — for tennis

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