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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 120 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: saw · land · perch · last · current · patient · bat · spell

  1. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  2. When are we going to ________________?
  3. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  4. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  5. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  6. She's very handy with a ________________.
  7. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  8. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  9. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  10. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  11. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  12. How do you ________________ your surname?
  13. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  14. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  15. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  16. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  17. He works in a ________________ mill.
  18. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  19. False peace will not ________________.
  20. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  21. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  22. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  23. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  24. Let us try to swim against the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. patient — a sick person
  2. land — to come down
  3. perch — for a bird
  4. perch — the fish
  5. land — ground
  6. saw — the tool
  7. saw — past of 'see'
  8. land — a country
  9. bat — in an idiom
  10. current — electric
  11. bat — the animal
  12. spell — letters
  13. spell — a short time
  14. bat — for baseball
  15. last — finally
  16. patient — calm and waiting
  17. saw — the tool
  18. spell — magic
  19. last — to go on
  20. patient — a sick person
  21. current — happening now
  22. perch — for a bird
  23. last — final
  24. current — of water

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