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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: degree · bear · last · patient · trunk · present · current · ground

  1. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  2. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  3. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  4. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  5. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  6. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  7. There's no middle ________________.
  8. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  9. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  10. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  11. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  12. False peace will not ________________.
  13. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  14. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  15. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  16. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  17. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  18. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  19. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  20. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  21. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  22. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  23. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  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. ground — crushed
  2. last — finally
  3. present — there
  4. trunk — of a tree
  5. current — happening now
  6. last — final
  7. ground — a position
  8. bear — the animal
  9. present — the time now
  10. bear — to put up with
  11. present — a gift
  12. last — to go on
  13. degree — from a university
  14. ground — the earth
  15. current — of water
  16. patient — calm and waiting
  17. bear — the animal
  18. degree — temperature
  19. patient — a sick person
  20. trunk — of a car
  21. trunk — of an elephant
  22. patient — a sick person
  23. current — electric
  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