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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: patient · current · ground · last · rock · scale · firm · tear

  1. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  2. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  3. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  4. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  5. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  6. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  7. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  8. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  9. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  10. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  11. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  12. There's no middle ________________.
  13. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  14. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  15. False peace will not ________________.
  16. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  17. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  18. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  19. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  20. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  21. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  22. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  23. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  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. rock — music
  2. tear — from crying
  3. ground — crushed
  4. scale — size or range
  5. scale — for weighing
  6. last — final
  7. patient — calm and waiting
  8. patient — a sick person
  9. patient — a sick person
  10. tear — from crying
  11. rock — a stone
  12. ground — a position
  13. scale — in music
  14. firm — decided
  15. last — to go on
  16. firm — steady
  17. rock — to move gently
  18. current — happening now
  19. firm — a company
  20. ground — the earth
  21. last — finally
  22. current — electric
  23. tear — to rip
  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