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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 124 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: land · current · swing · snap · patient · mine · net · track

  1. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  2. When are we going to ________________?
  3. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  4. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  5. David sat on the ________________.
  6. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  7. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  8. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  9. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  10. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  11. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  12. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  13. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  14. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  15. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  16. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  17. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  18. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  19. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  20. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  21. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  22. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  23. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  24. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — an explosive
  2. land — to come down
  3. current — happening now
  4. patient — a sick person
  5. swing — to play on
  6. track — to keep track
  7. swing — music
  8. patient — a sick person
  9. track — a path
  10. current — of water
  11. net — for catching
  12. net — in sport
  13. mine — for digging
  14. land — a country
  15. track — a song
  16. swing — in golf
  17. net — after costs
  18. current — electric
  19. mine — belonging to me
  20. snap — to speak sharply
  21. snap — to snap out of it
  22. land — ground
  23. patient — calm and waiting
  24. snap — to click

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