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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. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  2. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  3. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  4. She's very handy with a ________________.
  5. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  6. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  7. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  8. Have you found your soul ________________?
  9. The water is too ________________.
  10. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  11. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  12. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  13. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  14. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  15. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  16. He works in a ________________ mill.
  17. I'll be taking the ________________.
  18. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  19. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  20. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  21. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  22. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  23. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  24. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.

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

Answer key

  1. tube — a container
  2. mate — a friend
  3. current — electric
  4. saw — the tool
  5. cold — the Cold War
  6. current — happening now
  7. current — of water
  8. mate — a partner
  9. cold — not warm
  10. dip — to dunk
  11. patient — a sick person
  12. dip — a sauce
  13. patient — a sick person
  14. patient — calm and waiting
  15. mate — to breed
  16. saw — the tool
  17. tube — the underground
  18. saw — past of 'see'
  19. track — a song
  20. dip — to sink
  21. cold — an illness
  22. track — to keep track
  23. tube — in a tire
  24. track — a path

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