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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: wound · pit · game · season · calf · mine · current · patient

  1. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  2. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  3. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  4. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  5. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  6. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  7. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  8. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  9. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  10. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  11. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  12. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  13. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  14. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  15. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  16. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  17. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  18. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  19. That was a fun ________________.
  20. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  21. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  22. Did you ________________ the meat?
  23. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  24. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.

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

Answer key

  1. pit — a fruit stone
  2. calf — of the leg
  3. current — electric
  4. patient — a sick person
  5. game — a kind of play
  6. wound — an injury
  7. calf — a young animal
  8. mine — for digging
  9. patient — calm and waiting
  10. current — of water
  11. game — wild animals
  12. pit — a hole
  13. patient — a sick person
  14. current — happening now
  15. season — in sport
  16. wound — an injury
  17. season — of the year
  18. wound — past of 'wind'
  19. game — a match
  20. mine — belonging to me
  21. pit — in a race
  22. season — to add flavour
  23. mine — an explosive
  24. calf — a young animal

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