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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: ground · current · temple · court · pitcher · patient · branch · fork

  1. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  2. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  3. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  4. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  5. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  6. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  7. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  8. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  9. He is an ace ________________.
  10. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  11. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  12. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  13. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  14. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  15. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  16. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  17. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  18. There's no middle ________________.
  19. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  20. When was this ________________ built?
  21. The ball is in your ________________.
  22. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  23. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  24. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.

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

Answer key

  1. temple — a place of worship
  2. branch — of a tree
  3. court — of law
  4. fork — a garden tool
  5. branch — of a bank
  6. temple — side of the head
  7. patient — a sick person
  8. ground — crushed
  9. pitcher — in baseball
  10. fork — in a road
  11. branch — a division
  12. pitcher — a jug
  13. patient — a sick person
  14. current — of water
  15. fork — to eat with
  16. pitcher — a jug
  17. ground — the earth
  18. ground — a position
  19. current — electric
  20. temple — a place of worship
  21. court — for sport
  22. patient — calm and waiting
  23. court — of a king
  24. current — happening now

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