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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: mine · pound · current · patient · court · last · game · dip

  1. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  2. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  3. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  4. False peace will not ________________.
  5. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  6. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  7. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  8. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  9. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  10. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  11. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  12. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  13. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  14. The ball is in your ________________.
  15. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  16. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  17. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  18. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  19. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  20. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  21. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  22. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  23. That was a fun ________________.
  24. He was blown up by a land ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pound — for dogs
  2. current — electric
  3. game — a kind of play
  4. last — to go on
  5. current — of water
  6. court — of law
  7. current — happening now
  8. dip — to sink
  9. dip — a sauce
  10. last — final
  11. court — of a king
  12. mine — belonging to me
  13. pound — a weight
  14. court — for sport
  15. game — wild animals
  16. patient — calm and waiting
  17. pound — to hit hard
  18. dip — to dunk
  19. last — finally
  20. patient — a sick person
  21. patient — a sick person
  22. mine — for digging
  23. game — a match
  24. mine — an explosive

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