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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 116 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: wind · bat · content · row · current · hand · pass · patient

  1. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  2. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  3. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  4. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  5. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  6. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  7. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  8. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  9. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  10. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  11. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  12. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  13. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  14. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  15. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  16. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  17. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  18. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  19. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  20. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  21. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  22. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  23. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  24. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. patient — calm and waiting
  2. bat — the animal
  3. bat — in an idiom
  4. pass — to spend time
  5. bat — for baseball
  6. row — a quarrel
  7. patient — a sick person
  8. wind — moving air
  9. wind — moving air
  10. pass — a permit
  11. row — to paddle
  12. current — happening now
  13. pass — to succeed
  14. hand — help
  15. wind — to turn a key
  16. current — electric
  17. current — of water
  18. row — a line
  19. hand — part of the body
  20. patient — a sick person
  21. content — the amount
  22. content — videos and posts
  23. hand — in cards
  24. content — happy

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