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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 124 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 · field · degree · ground · current · scale · jam · stick

  1. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  2. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  3. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  4. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  5. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  6. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  7. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  8. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  9. There's no middle ________________.
  10. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  11. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  12. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  13. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  14. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  15. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  16. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  17. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  18. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  19. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  20. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  21. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  22. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  23. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  24. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?

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

Answer key

  1. degree — from a university
  2. scale — size or range
  3. stick — a piece of wood
  4. field — a subject
  5. current — happening now
  6. patient — a sick person
  7. ground — crushed
  8. jam — a tight spot
  9. ground — a position
  10. current — of water
  11. patient — a sick person
  12. jam — to spread on bread
  13. field — farmland
  14. ground — the earth
  15. patient — calm and waiting
  16. field — for sport
  17. scale — in music
  18. stick — to attach or keep to
  19. scale — for weighing
  20. jam — in traffic
  21. current — electric
  22. stick — a piece of wood
  23. degree — temperature
  24. degree — an amount

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