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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 farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  2. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  3. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  4. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  5. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  6. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  7. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  8. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  9. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  10. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  11. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  12. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  13. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  14. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  15. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  16. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  17. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  18. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  19. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  20. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  21. What do you think of the new ________________?
  22. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  23. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  24. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.

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

Answer key

  1. patient — calm and waiting
  2. current — electric
  3. cabinet — ministers
  4. patient — a sick person
  5. patient — a sick person
  6. object — a thing
  7. bass — low music
  8. bass — the instrument
  9. shower — a meteor shower
  10. cabinet — a cupboard
  11. shower — to wash
  12. kid — child
  13. kid — to tease
  14. shower — rain
  15. degree — an amount
  16. object — to protest
  17. degree — from a university
  18. current — of water
  19. object — an aim
  20. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  21. cabinet — ministers
  22. degree — temperature
  23. bass — the fish
  24. current — happening now

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