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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: patient · hand · bore · current · march · stand · last · wind

  1. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  2. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  3. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  4. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  5. I can't ________________ this cold.
  6. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  7. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  8. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  9. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  10. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  11. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  12. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  13. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  14. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  15. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  16. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  17. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  18. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  19. False peace will not ________________.
  20. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  21. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  22. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  23. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  24. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — help
  2. bore — to drill
  3. march — the month
  4. current — of water
  5. stand — to bear
  6. wind — moving air
  7. bore — gave birth
  8. wind — moving air
  9. patient — a sick person
  10. stand — for spectators
  11. last — finally
  12. wind — to turn a key
  13. last — final
  14. hand — in cards
  15. march — music
  16. bore — to tire
  17. march — the month
  18. stand — on your feet
  19. last — to go on
  20. hand — part of the body
  21. patient — calm and waiting
  22. current — happening now
  23. patient — a sick person
  24. current — electric

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