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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: drill · patient · pop · roll · fork · land · chair · current

  1. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  2. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  3. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  4. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  5. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  6. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  7. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  8. We're on a ________________ here.
  9. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  10. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  11. We're almost out of ________________.
  12. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  13. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  14. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  15. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  16. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  17. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  18. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  19. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  20. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  21. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  22. When are we going to ________________?
  23. You don't need to ________________ round.
  24. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.

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

Answer key

  1. land — ground
  2. current — electric
  3. fork — a garden tool
  4. chair — a leader
  5. patient — a sick person
  6. drill — army training
  7. pop — music
  8. roll — on a roll
  9. patient — a sick person
  10. chair — a professorship
  11. pop — soda
  12. current — of water
  13. drill — the tool
  14. roll — a cake
  15. land — a country
  16. drill — a practice
  17. fork — to eat with
  18. chair — to sit on
  19. patient — calm and waiting
  20. fork — in a road
  21. current — happening now
  22. land — to come down
  23. pop — to visit
  24. roll — a list

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