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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: pop · current · field · bat · last · patient · mug · perch

  1. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  2. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  3. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  4. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  5. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  6. False peace will not ________________.
  7. You don't need to ________________ round.
  8. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  9. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  10. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  11. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  12. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  13. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  14. Where did you ________________ them?
  15. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  16. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  17. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  18. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  19. We're almost out of ________________.
  20. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  21. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  22. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  23. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  24. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.

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

Answer key

  1. field — farmland
  2. mug — a face
  3. field — a subject
  4. perch — the fish
  5. bat — the animal
  6. last — to go on
  7. pop — to visit
  8. bat — for baseball
  9. current — happening now
  10. current — electric
  11. field — for sport
  12. current — of water
  13. last — final
  14. mug — to rob
  15. last — finally
  16. perch — for a bird
  17. patient — a sick person
  18. bat — in an idiom
  19. pop — soda
  20. pop — music
  21. mug — a cup
  22. patient — a sick person
  23. perch — for a bird
  24. patient — calm and waiting

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