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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 ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  2. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  3. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  4. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  5. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  6. The water is too ________________.
  7. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  8. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  9. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  10. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  11. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  12. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  13. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  14. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  15. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  16. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  17. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  18. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  19. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  20. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  21. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  22. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  23. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  24. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. patient — a sick person
  2. cold — an illness
  3. current — happening now
  4. chair — a leader
  5. current — of water
  6. cold — not warm
  7. current — electric
  8. clip — a video
  9. cold — the Cold War
  10. chair — a professorship
  11. face — to point toward
  12. clip — for paper
  13. patient — a sick person
  14. board — to get on
  15. face — part of the head
  16. board — a flat piece
  17. shower — to wash
  18. clip — to cut
  19. face — to confront
  20. shower — rain
  21. chair — to sit on
  22. board — a committee
  23. patient — calm and waiting
  24. shower — a meteor shower

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