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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. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  2. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  3. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  4. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  5. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  6. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  7. It's one o'clock ________________.
  8. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  9. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  10. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  11. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  12. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  13. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  14. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  15. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  16. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  17. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  18. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  19. He was locked up in a ________________.
  20. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  21. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  22. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  23. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  24. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.

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

Answer key

  1. current — of water
  2. patient — calm and waiting
  3. field — a subject
  4. trunk — of a tree
  5. current — electric
  6. patient — a sick person
  7. sharp — exactly
  8. current — happening now
  9. chip — for betting
  10. sharp — with an edge
  11. trunk — of a car
  12. chip — in a computer
  13. cell — in biology
  14. cell — a phone
  15. chip — to eat
  16. field — farmland
  17. capital — a city
  18. field — for sport
  19. cell — in a prison
  20. patient — a sick person
  21. sharp — clever
  22. capital — money
  23. trunk — of an elephant
  24. capital — a big letter

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