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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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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  2. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  3. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  4. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  5. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  6. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  7. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  8. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  9. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  10. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  11. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  12. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  13. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  14. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  15. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  16. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  17. The water is too ________________.
  18. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — the Cold War
  2. current — of water
  3. current — happening now
  4. patient — calm and waiting
  5. cold — an illness
  6. wave — of the sea
  7. root — of a plant
  8. root — of a word
  9. root — the cause
  10. wave — with your hand
  11. spring — of water
  12. patient — a sick person
  13. spring — the season
  14. patient — a sick person
  15. current — electric
  16. wave — a sudden rise
  17. cold — not warm
  18. spring — a coil

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