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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. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  2. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  3. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  4. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  5. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  6. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  7. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  8. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  9. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  10. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  11. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  12. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  13. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  14. False peace will not ________________.
  15. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  16. That was a fun ________________.
  17. That must've been a ________________.
  18. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  19. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  20. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  21. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  22. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  23. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  24. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rush — hurry
  2. current — of water
  3. rush — to hurry
  4. wake — a trail
  5. rock — music
  6. current — electric
  7. rock — a stone
  8. net — for catching
  9. patient — a sick person
  10. patient — calm and waiting
  11. net — after costs
  12. rock — to move gently
  13. game — wild animals
  14. last — to go on
  15. wake — to stop sleeping
  16. game — a match
  17. rush — a thrill
  18. game — a kind of play
  19. current — happening now
  20. last — finally
  21. net — in sport
  22. last — final
  23. wake — before a funeral
  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