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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: field · craft · current · patient · band · wake · straw · kid

  1. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  2. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  3. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  4. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  5. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  6. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  7. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  8. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  9. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  10. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  11. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  12. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  13. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  14. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  15. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  16. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  17. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  18. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  19. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  20. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  21. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  22. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  23. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  24. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.

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

Answer key

  1. current — happening now
  2. kid — child
  3. current — of water
  4. straw — to clutch at straws
  5. craft — boats
  6. patient — calm and waiting
  7. patient — a sick person
  8. band — a ring
  9. field — farmland
  10. patient — a sick person
  11. straw — dry grass
  12. wake — before a funeral
  13. kid — to tease
  14. current — electric
  15. craft — a handicraft
  16. field — for sport
  17. field — a subject
  18. band — a music group
  19. band — a rubber band
  20. straw — a straw man
  21. wake — to stop sleeping
  22. wake — a trail
  23. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  24. craft — a skill

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