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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: patient · cap · kick · arm · bark · stock · swing · current

  1. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  2. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  3. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  4. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  5. My father caught me by the ________________.
  6. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  7. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  8. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  9. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  10. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  11. The ________________ market has crashed.
  12. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  13. David sat on the ________________.
  14. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  15. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  16. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  17. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  18. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  19. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  20. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  21. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  22. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  23. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  24. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. patient — calm and waiting
  2. kick — a thrill
  3. current — happening now
  4. cap — a hat
  5. arm — part of the body
  6. current — of water
  7. bark — to shout
  8. cap — a lid
  9. current — electric
  10. stock — goods
  11. stock — shares
  12. arm — part of the body
  13. swing — to play on
  14. kick — in football
  15. stock — a soup base
  16. patient — a sick person
  17. patient — a sick person
  18. arm — a part of something
  19. swing — music
  20. cap — of ice
  21. kick — with a leg
  22. bark — a dog's sound
  23. swing — in golf
  24. bark — of a tree

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