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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: stick · tube · current · march · shower · patient · field · lie

  1. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  2. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  3. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  4. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  5. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  6. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  7. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  8. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  9. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  10. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  11. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  12. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  13. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  14. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  15. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  16. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  17. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  18. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  19. I'll be taking the ________________.
  20. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  21. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  22. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  23. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  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. field — for sport
  2. shower — a meteor shower
  3. lie — to recline
  4. patient — a sick person
  5. march — the month
  6. shower — rain
  7. current — happening now
  8. field — a subject
  9. lie — an untruth
  10. tube — a container
  11. current — electric
  12. stick — a piece of wood
  13. tube — in a tire
  14. stick — a piece of wood
  15. patient — a sick person
  16. shower — to wash
  17. field — farmland
  18. patient — calm and waiting
  19. tube — the underground
  20. stick — to attach or keep to
  21. march — music
  22. lie — an untruth
  23. march — the month
  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