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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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 · sharp · snap · trunk · mine · tear · current

  1. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  2. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  3. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  4. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  5. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  6. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  7. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  8. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  9. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  10. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  11. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  12. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  13. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  14. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  15. It's one o'clock ________________.
  16. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  17. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  18. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  19. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  20. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  21. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  22. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  23. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  24. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — clever
  2. field — a subject
  3. tear — from crying
  4. current — electric
  5. snap — to speak sharply
  6. field — for sport
  7. mine — belonging to me
  8. patient — a sick person
  9. field — farmland
  10. mine — for digging
  11. tear — to rip
  12. trunk — of a tree
  13. mine — an explosive
  14. sharp — with an edge
  15. sharp — exactly
  16. trunk — of an elephant
  17. patient — a sick person
  18. patient — calm and waiting
  19. snap — to click
  20. trunk — of a car
  21. current — of water
  22. snap — to snap out of it
  23. tear — from crying
  24. current — happening now

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