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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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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: field · current · patient · straw · tear · bass · branch · firm

  1. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  2. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  3. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  4. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  5. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  6. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  7. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  8. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  9. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  10. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  11. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  12. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  13. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  14. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  15. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  16. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  17. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  18. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  19. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  20. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  21. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  22. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  23. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  24. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bass — the fish
  2. straw — dry grass
  3. field — a subject
  4. straw — a straw man
  5. tear — to rip
  6. current — of water
  7. branch — of a tree
  8. patient — calm and waiting
  9. straw — to clutch at straws
  10. firm — a company
  11. bass — low music
  12. bass — the instrument
  13. branch — of a bank
  14. current — happening now
  15. firm — steady
  16. field — for sport
  17. patient — a sick person
  18. tear — from crying
  19. firm — decided
  20. current — electric
  21. tear — from crying
  22. field — farmland
  23. branch — a division
  24. patient — a sick person

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