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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. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  2. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  3. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  4. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  5. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  6. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  7. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  8. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  9. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  10. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  11. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  12. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  13. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  14. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  15. Did you ________________ the meat?
  16. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  17. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  18. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  19. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  20. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  21. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  22. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  23. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  24. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — to tease
  2. trunk — of a tree
  3. bat — the animal
  4. current — happening now
  5. patient — a sick person
  6. current — electric
  7. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  8. season — in sport
  9. bat — for baseball
  10. pound — to hit hard
  11. lash — to lash out
  12. current — of water
  13. kid — child
  14. trunk — of a car
  15. season — to add flavour
  16. bat — in an idiom
  17. patient — calm and waiting
  18. season — of the year
  19. pound — for dogs
  20. lash — an eyelash
  21. patient — a sick person
  22. lash — a whip stroke
  23. trunk — of an elephant
  24. pound — a weight

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