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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: kid · patient · tube · current · racket · club · pop · land

  1. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  2. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  3. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  4. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  5. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  6. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  7. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  8. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  9. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  10. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  11. You don't need to ________________ round.
  12. I'll be taking the ________________.
  13. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  14. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  15. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  16. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  17. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  18. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  19. We're almost out of ________________.
  20. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  21. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  22. When are we going to ________________?
  23. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  24. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — to tease
  2. patient — a sick person
  3. racket — for tennis
  4. patient — a sick person
  5. current — of water
  6. tube — in a tire
  7. racket — a loud noise
  8. pop — music
  9. club — for golf
  10. racket — for tennis
  11. pop — to visit
  12. tube — the underground
  13. current — electric
  14. club — for dancing
  15. land — a country
  16. land — ground
  17. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  18. current — happening now
  19. pop — soda
  20. club — a group
  21. tube — a container
  22. land — to come down
  23. patient — calm and waiting
  24. kid — child

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