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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: shower · lie · bass · patient · bulb · field · hand · current

  1. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  2. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  3. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  4. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  5. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  6. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  7. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  8. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  9. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  10. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  11. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  12. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  13. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  14. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  15. I've got to change the light ________________.
  16. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  17. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  18. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  19. The light ________________ burned out.
  20. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  21. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  22. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  23. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  24. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. patient — a sick person
  2. bulb — of a plant
  3. lie — to recline
  4. current — happening now
  5. current — of water
  6. bass — low music
  7. bass — the instrument
  8. field — a subject
  9. patient — calm and waiting
  10. field — farmland
  11. shower — a meteor shower
  12. shower — rain
  13. hand — in cards
  14. hand — help
  15. bulb — for light
  16. current — electric
  17. hand — part of the body
  18. shower — to wash
  19. bulb — for light
  20. lie — an untruth
  21. patient — a sick person
  22. lie — an untruth
  23. bass — the fish
  24. field — for sport

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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