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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: bat · current · cell · pound · patient · band · bark · cap

  1. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  2. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  3. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  4. He was locked up in a ________________.
  5. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  6. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  7. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  8. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  9. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  10. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  11. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  12. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  13. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  14. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  15. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  16. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  17. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  18. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  19. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  20. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  21. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  22. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  23. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  24. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.

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

Answer key

  1. cap — a lid
  2. pound — for dogs
  3. current — happening now
  4. cell — in a prison
  5. cell — in biology
  6. cell — a phone
  7. pound — a weight
  8. cap — of ice
  9. bark — of a tree
  10. patient — a sick person
  11. bat — the animal
  12. band — a ring
  13. cap — a hat
  14. bark — a dog's sound
  15. band — a music group
  16. band — a rubber band
  17. bat — in an idiom
  18. pound — to hit hard
  19. current — of water
  20. current — electric
  21. bark — to shout
  22. bat — for baseball
  23. patient — calm and waiting
  24. patient — a sick person

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