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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: patient · object · clip · stem · pop · field · current · saw

  1. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  2. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  3. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  4. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  5. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  6. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  7. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  8. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  9. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  10. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  11. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  12. He works in a ________________ mill.
  13. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  14. She's very handy with a ________________.
  15. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  16. You don't need to ________________ round.
  17. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  18. We're almost out of ________________.
  19. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  20. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  21. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  22. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  23. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  24. Hold the papers together with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. object — a thing
  2. field — farmland
  3. stem — to come from
  4. patient — calm and waiting
  5. field — a subject
  6. patient — a sick person
  7. current — electric
  8. object — an aim
  9. current — happening now
  10. clip — to cut
  11. stem — a stem cell
  12. saw — the tool
  13. current — of water
  14. saw — the tool
  15. saw — past of 'see'
  16. pop — to visit
  17. pop — music
  18. pop — soda
  19. field — for sport
  20. clip — a video
  21. stem — of a plant
  22. patient — a sick person
  23. object — to protest
  24. clip — for paper

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