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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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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: ground · saw · pitcher · field · bank · cap · current · patient

  1. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  2. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  3. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  4. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  5. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  6. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  7. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  8. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  9. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  10. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  11. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  12. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  13. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  14. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  15. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  16. She's very handy with a ________________.
  17. There's no middle ________________.
  18. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  19. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  20. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  21. He works in a ________________ mill.
  22. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  23. He is an ace ________________.
  24. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.

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

Answer key

  1. patient — calm and waiting
  2. cap — of ice
  3. ground — the earth
  4. pitcher — a jug
  5. ground — crushed
  6. pitcher — a jug
  7. bank — for money
  8. saw — past of 'see'
  9. cap — a lid
  10. field — farmland
  11. current — electric
  12. current — happening now
  13. current — of water
  14. patient — a sick person
  15. field — a subject
  16. saw — the tool
  17. ground — a position
  18. patient — a sick person
  19. bank — of a river
  20. cap — a hat
  21. saw — the tool
  22. field — for sport
  23. pitcher — in baseball
  24. bank — for money

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