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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. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  2. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  3. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  4. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  5. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  6. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  7. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  8. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  9. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  10. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  11. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  12. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  13. Don't do anything ________________.
  14. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  15. I've got to change the light ________________.
  16. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  17. The light ________________ burned out.
  18. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  19. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  20. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  21. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  22. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  23. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  24. Biology is a ________________ of science.

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

Answer key

  1. bulb — of a plant
  2. current — of water
  3. shower — a meteor shower
  4. shower — rain
  5. branch — of a tree
  6. branch — of a bank
  7. rash — a series
  8. patient — a sick person
  9. hand — help
  10. rash — on the skin
  11. current — electric
  12. current — happening now
  13. rash — hasty
  14. hand — part of the body
  15. bulb — for light
  16. patient — calm and waiting
  17. bulb — for light
  18. wound — past of 'wind'
  19. wound — an injury
  20. shower — to wash
  21. hand — in cards
  22. wound — an injury
  23. patient — a sick person
  24. branch — a division

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