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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. Have you settled on a ________________?
  2. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  3. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  4. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  5. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  6. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  7. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  8. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  9. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  10. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  11. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  12. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  13. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  14. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  15. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  16. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  17. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  18. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  19. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  20. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  21. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  22. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  23. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  24. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.

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

Answer key

  1. date — on the calendar
  2. vault — a safe
  3. band — a ring
  4. band — a rubber band
  5. patient — a sick person
  6. current — happening now
  7. current — of water
  8. band — a music group
  9. row — a line
  10. row — to paddle
  11. clip — to cut
  12. present — a gift
  13. present — the time now
  14. date — the fruit
  15. patient — a sick person
  16. present — there
  17. row — a quarrel
  18. vault — in gymnastics
  19. patient — calm and waiting
  20. current — electric
  21. clip — for paper
  22. date — on the calendar
  23. clip — a video
  24. vault — an arched ceiling

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