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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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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: game · rash · bass · ground · chest · patient · pound · current

  1. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  2. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  3. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  4. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  5. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  6. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  7. There's no middle ________________.
  8. Don't do anything ________________.
  9. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  10. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  11. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  12. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  13. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  14. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  15. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  16. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  17. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  18. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  19. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  20. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  21. That was a fun ________________.
  22. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  23. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  24. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.

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

Answer key

  1. game — wild animals
  2. rash — on the skin
  3. bass — low music
  4. current — happening now
  5. chest — a box
  6. bass — the instrument
  7. ground — a position
  8. rash — hasty
  9. ground — the earth
  10. game — a kind of play
  11. rash — a series
  12. pound — a weight
  13. ground — crushed
  14. current — electric
  15. bass — the fish
  16. patient — calm and waiting
  17. pound — to hit hard
  18. patient — a sick person
  19. chest — of your body
  20. current — of water
  21. game — a match
  22. pound — for dogs
  23. patient — a sick person
  24. chest — of your body

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