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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. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  3. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  4. Have you settled on a ________________?
  5. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  6. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  7. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  8. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  9. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  10. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  11. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  12. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  13. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  14. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  15. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  16. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  17. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  18. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  19. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  20. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  21. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  22. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  23. It's one o'clock ________________.
  24. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.

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

Answer key

  1. current — electric
  2. current — of water
  3. patient — a sick person
  4. date — on the calendar
  5. snap — to click
  6. scale — for weighing
  7. scale — in music
  8. date — on the calendar
  9. snap — to speak sharply
  10. vault — an arched ceiling
  11. date — the fruit
  12. scale — size or range
  13. patient — a sick person
  14. sharp — with an edge
  15. snap — to snap out of it
  16. fall — the season
  17. sharp — clever
  18. vault — a safe
  19. fall — to drop
  20. patient — calm and waiting
  21. fall — to drop
  22. vault — in gymnastics
  23. sharp — exactly
  24. current — happening now

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