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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: patient · firm · bass · bat · mark · current · wind · kid

  1. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  2. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  3. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  4. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  5. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  6. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  7. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  8. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  9. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  10. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  11. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  12. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  13. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  14. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  15. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  16. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  17. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  18. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  19. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  20. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  21. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  22. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  23. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  24. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — the animal
  2. mark — a grade
  3. firm — decided
  4. mark — to pay attention
  5. firm — steady
  6. bass — the instrument
  7. mark — a trace
  8. current — electric
  9. kid — to tease
  10. patient — calm and waiting
  11. bat — in an idiom
  12. bass — low music
  13. bat — for baseball
  14. firm — a company
  15. current — happening now
  16. current — of water
  17. kid — child
  18. wind — to turn a key
  19. wind — moving air
  20. patient — a sick person
  21. bass — the fish
  22. patient — a sick person
  23. wind — moving air
  24. kid — young goat (kid gloves)

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