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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 room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  2. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  3. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  4. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  5. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  6. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  7. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  8. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  9. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  10. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  11. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  12. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  13. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  14. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  15. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  16. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  17. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  18. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  19. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  20. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  21. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  22. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  23. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  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. pitch — completely
  2. current — of water
  3. patient — a sick person
  4. patient — a sick person
  5. calf — a young animal
  6. straw — dry grass
  7. wake — a trail
  8. straw — to clutch at straws
  9. pitch — a sports field
  10. wake — to stop sleeping
  11. patient — calm and waiting
  12. band — a music group
  13. scale — in music
  14. scale — size or range
  15. pitch — a sales talk
  16. straw — a straw man
  17. wake — before a funeral
  18. band — a ring
  19. band — a rubber band
  20. calf — a young animal
  21. calf — of the leg
  22. current — electric
  23. scale — for weighing
  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