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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. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  2. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  3. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  4. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  5. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  6. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  7. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  8. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  9. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  10. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  11. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  12. The ________________ market has crashed.
  13. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  14. False peace will not ________________.
  15. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  16. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  17. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  18. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  19. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  20. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  21. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  22. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  23. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  24. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.

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

Answer key

  1. last — finally
  2. wake — before a funeral
  3. patient — calm and waiting
  4. current — happening now
  5. patient — a sick person
  6. bat — the animal
  7. stock — a soup base
  8. current — of water
  9. bat — for baseball
  10. wind — moving air
  11. stick — to attach or keep to
  12. stock — shares
  13. stick — a piece of wood
  14. last — to go on
  15. last — final
  16. wind — to turn a key
  17. current — electric
  18. stock — goods
  19. wind — moving air
  20. wake — a trail
  21. stick — a piece of wood
  22. wake — to stop sleeping
  23. patient — a sick person
  24. bat — in an idiom

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