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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 old man leaned on his ________________.
  2. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  3. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  4. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  5. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  6. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  7. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  8. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  9. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  10. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  11. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  12. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  13. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  14. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  15. We're on a ________________ here.
  16. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  17. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  18. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  19. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  20. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  21. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  22. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  23. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  24. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. staff — a stick
  2. fan — a supporter
  3. roll — a cake
  4. patient — a sick person
  5. rule — to rule out
  6. current — of water
  7. fan — to cool the air
  8. shower — to wash
  9. current — electric
  10. rule — a law
  11. roll — a list
  12. file — a document
  13. fan — a supporter
  14. patient — a sick person
  15. roll — on a roll
  16. staff — employees
  17. shower — rain
  18. file — a line of people
  19. shower — a meteor shower
  20. staff — employees
  21. rule — government
  22. patient — calm and waiting
  23. current — happening now
  24. file — a tool

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