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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 116 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's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  2. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  3. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  4. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  5. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  6. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  7. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  8. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  9. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  10. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  11. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  12. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  13. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  14. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  15. He was locked up in a ________________.
  16. That was ________________ to happen.
  17. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  18. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  19. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  20. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  21. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  22. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  23. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  24. We took cover from the thunder ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a music group
  2. current — electric
  3. patient — calm and waiting
  4. vault — a safe
  5. current — of water
  6. file — a document
  7. current — happening now
  8. bound — obliged
  9. shower — to wash
  10. cell — a phone
  11. vault — in gymnastics
  12. patient — a sick person
  13. patient — a sick person
  14. vault — an arched ceiling
  15. cell — in a prison
  16. bound — certain
  17. cell — in biology
  18. file — a tool
  19. band — a rubber band
  20. shower — a meteor shower
  21. band — a ring
  22. file — a line of people
  23. bound — tied together
  24. shower — rain

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