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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. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  2. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  3. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  4. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  5. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  6. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  7. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  8. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  9. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  10. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  11. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  12. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  13. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  14. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  15. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  16. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  17. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  18. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  19. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  20. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  21. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  22. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  23. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  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. hide — to keep secret
  2. snap — to click
  3. patient — a sick person
  4. current — electric
  5. wind — moving air
  6. snap — to speak sharply
  7. chest — of your body
  8. toast — a drink to someone
  9. bowl — a football final
  10. hide — to keep secret
  11. wind — to turn a key
  12. chest — of your body
  13. bowl — to roll
  14. patient — a sick person
  15. wind — moving air
  16. snap — to snap out of it
  17. toast — the most admired
  18. bowl — a dish
  19. toast — bread
  20. chest — a box
  21. hide — animal skin
  22. current — of water
  23. patient — calm and waiting
  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