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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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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: bear · sharp · hand · current · root · court · patient · last

  1. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  2. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  3. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  4. The ball is in your ________________.
  5. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  6. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  7. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  8. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  9. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  10. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  11. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  12. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  13. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  14. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  15. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  16. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  17. False peace will not ________________.
  18. It's one o'clock ________________.
  19. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  20. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  21. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  22. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  23. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  24. At ________________, we arrived at the village.

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

Answer key

  1. last — final
  2. sharp — with an edge
  3. current — electric
  4. court — for sport
  5. root — of a plant
  6. hand — help
  7. root — of a word
  8. patient — a sick person
  9. hand — part of the body
  10. patient — calm and waiting
  11. patient — a sick person
  12. bear — to put up with
  13. current — happening now
  14. current — of water
  15. sharp — clever
  16. root — the cause
  17. last — to go on
  18. sharp — exactly
  19. court — of a king
  20. bear — the animal
  21. hand — in cards
  22. bear — the animal
  23. court — of law
  24. last — finally

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