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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: hand · ground · pitcher · current · wave · patient · court · nail

  1. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  2. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  3. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  4. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  5. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  6. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  7. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  8. The ________________ went through the wall.
  9. The ball is in your ________________.
  10. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  11. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  12. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  13. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  14. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  15. There's no middle ________________.
  16. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  17. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  18. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  19. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  20. He is an ace ________________.
  21. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  22. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  23. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  24. Fill up this ________________ with water.

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

Answer key

  1. wave — of the sea
  2. nail — for a hammer
  3. wave — a sudden rise
  4. nail — on a finger
  5. patient — calm and waiting
  6. court — of law
  7. pitcher — a jug
  8. nail — for a hammer
  9. court — for sport
  10. patient — a sick person
  11. ground — crushed
  12. current — of water
  13. court — of a king
  14. current — happening now
  15. ground — a position
  16. current — electric
  17. ground — the earth
  18. hand — part of the body
  19. hand — in cards
  20. pitcher — in baseball
  21. wave — with your hand
  22. patient — a sick person
  23. hand — help
  24. pitcher — a jug

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