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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: degree · stand · wax · patient · current · bat · clip · sharp

  1. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  2. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  3. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  4. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  5. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  6. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  7. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  8. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  9. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  10. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  11. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  12. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  13. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  14. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  15. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  16. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  17. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  18. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  19. I can't ________________ this cold.
  20. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  21. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  22. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  23. It's one o'clock ________________.
  24. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?

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

Answer key

  1. stand — for spectators
  2. sharp — clever
  3. bat — the animal
  4. clip — for paper
  5. patient — a sick person
  6. bat — in an idiom
  7. degree — from a university
  8. current — happening now
  9. patient — a sick person
  10. current — of water
  11. current — electric
  12. degree — temperature
  13. patient — calm and waiting
  14. wax — for sculpting
  15. sharp — with an edge
  16. clip — a video
  17. wax — in the ear
  18. clip — to cut
  19. stand — to bear
  20. wax — to grow
  21. bat — for baseball
  22. stand — on your feet
  23. sharp — exactly
  24. degree — an amount

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