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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 116 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: last · spring · ground · face · current · club · hand · patient

  1. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  2. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  3. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  4. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  5. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  6. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  7. There's no middle ________________.
  8. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  9. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  10. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  11. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  12. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  13. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  14. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  15. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  16. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  17. False peace will not ________________.
  18. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  19. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  20. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  21. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  22. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  23. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  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. club — a group
  2. hand — part of the body
  3. current — electric
  4. hand — in cards
  5. current — happening now
  6. face — part of the head
  7. ground — a position
  8. last — final
  9. spring — the season
  10. ground — the earth
  11. face — to point toward
  12. spring — a coil
  13. club — for golf
  14. hand — help
  15. spring — of water
  16. patient — calm and waiting
  17. last — to go on
  18. patient — a sick person
  19. last — finally
  20. face — to confront
  21. ground — crushed
  22. club — for dancing
  23. patient — a sick person
  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