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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. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  2. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  3. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  4. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  5. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  6. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  7. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  8. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  9. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  10. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  11. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  12. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  13. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  14. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  15. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  16. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  17. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  18. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  19. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  20. You don't need to ________________ round.
  21. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  22. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  23. We're almost out of ________________.
  24. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.

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

Answer key

  1. current — electric
  2. bowl — to roll
  3. pop — music
  4. shower — to wash
  5. craft — a handicraft
  6. bowl — a football final
  7. current — of water
  8. patient — a sick person
  9. squash — the sport
  10. spring — the season
  11. spring — a coil
  12. craft — boats
  13. shower — rain
  14. patient — calm and waiting
  15. bowl — a dish
  16. current — happening now
  17. squash — to crush
  18. shower — a meteor shower
  19. craft — a skill
  20. pop — to visit
  21. squash — the vegetable
  22. spring — of water
  23. pop — soda
  24. patient — a sick person

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