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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. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  2. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  3. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  4. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  5. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  6. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  7. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  8. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  9. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  10. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  11. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  12. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  13. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  14. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  15. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  16. How do you ________________ your surname?
  17. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  18. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  19. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  20. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  21. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  22. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  23. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  24. He took the fish out of the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — of water
  2. patient — a sick person
  3. current — happening now
  4. wound — an injury
  5. club — for golf
  6. club — a group
  7. net — in sport
  8. club — for dancing
  9. craft — a handicraft
  10. spring — the season
  11. current — electric
  12. spell — magic
  13. patient — a sick person
  14. current — of water
  15. wound — past of 'wind'
  16. spell — letters
  17. patient — calm and waiting
  18. wound — an injury
  19. craft — boats
  20. craft — a skill
  21. spell — a short time
  22. spring — a coil
  23. net — after costs
  24. net — for catching

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