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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. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  3. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  4. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  5. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  6. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  7. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  8. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  9. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  10. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  11. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  12. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  13. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  14. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  15. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  16. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  17. How do you ________________ your surname?
  18. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  19. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  20. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  21. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  22. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  23. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  24. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.

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

Answer key

  1. net — for catching
  2. staff — employees
  3. craft — a handicraft
  4. patient — a sick person
  5. chest — of your body
  6. straw — a straw man
  7. chest — a box
  8. net — in sport
  9. craft — boats
  10. chest — of your body
  11. patient — a sick person
  12. patient — calm and waiting
  13. craft — a skill
  14. straw — dry grass
  15. staff — employees
  16. staff — a stick
  17. spell — letters
  18. current — of water
  19. current — electric
  20. net — after costs
  21. current — happening now
  22. spell — magic
  23. straw — to clutch at straws
  24. spell — a short time

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