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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. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  2. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  3. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  4. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  5. How do you ________________ your surname?
  6. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  7. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  8. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  9. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  10. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  11. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  12. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  13. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  14. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  15. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  16. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  17. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  18. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  19. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  20. That was ________________ to happen.
  21. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  22. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  23. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  24. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.

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

Answer key

  1. current — happening now
  2. patient — a sick person
  3. kick — with a leg
  4. wax — for sculpting
  5. spell — letters
  6. current — of water
  7. bound — obliged
  8. patient — a sick person
  9. bound — tied together
  10. wax — to grow
  11. spell — a short time
  12. content — happy
  13. wax — in the ear
  14. patient — calm and waiting
  15. stem — a stem cell
  16. current — electric
  17. content — the amount
  18. spell — magic
  19. stem — to come from
  20. bound — certain
  21. kick — a thrill
  22. stem — of a plant
  23. content — videos and posts
  24. kick — in football

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