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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's taking a ________________ right now.
  2. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  3. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  4. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  5. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  6. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  7. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  8. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  9. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  10. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  11. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  12. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  13. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  14. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  15. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  16. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  17. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  18. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  19. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  20. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  21. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  22. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  23. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  24. Let us try to swim against the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — to wash
  2. current — electric
  3. pound — a weight
  4. patient — a sick person
  5. stem — to come from
  6. current — happening now
  7. patient — a sick person
  8. shower — rain
  9. field — farmland
  10. ruler — for measuring
  11. chest — a box
  12. field — for sport
  13. pound — to hit hard
  14. field — a subject
  15. chest — of your body
  16. stem — a stem cell
  17. shower — a meteor shower
  18. chest — of your body
  19. patient — calm and waiting
  20. stem — of a plant
  21. ruler — a monarch
  22. ruler — for measuring
  23. pound — for dogs
  24. current — of water

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