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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 120 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. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  2. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  3. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  4. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  5. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  6. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  7. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  8. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  9. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  10. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  11. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  12. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  13. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  14. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  15. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  16. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  17. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  18. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  19. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  20. He was locked up in a ________________.
  21. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  22. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  23. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  24. I had a ________________ with my boss today.

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

Answer key

  1. net — for catching
  2. lean — thin
  3. lean — to bend
  4. vault — a safe
  5. cell — a phone
  6. current — electric
  7. net — in sport
  8. shower — rain
  9. row — a line
  10. shower — a meteor shower
  11. current — happening now
  12. patient — calm and waiting
  13. patient — a sick person
  14. vault — an arched ceiling
  15. current — of water
  16. vault — in gymnastics
  17. shower — to wash
  18. net — after costs
  19. cell — in biology
  20. cell — in a prison
  21. row — to paddle
  22. lean — to rest against
  23. patient — a sick person
  24. row — a quarrel

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