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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. You don't need to ________________ round.
  3. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  4. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  5. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  6. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  7. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  8. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  9. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  10. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  11. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  12. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  13. The ________________ took off on time.
  14. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  15. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  16. We're almost out of ________________.
  17. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  18. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  19. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  20. How do you ________________ your surname?
  21. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  22. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  23. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  24. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.

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

Answer key

  1. current — of water
  2. pop — to visit
  3. current — electric
  4. current — happening now
  5. patient — a sick person
  6. pop — music
  7. chip — to eat
  8. cap — a hat
  9. plane — a tool
  10. spell — magic
  11. lean — to bend
  12. patient — calm and waiting
  13. plane — an aircraft
  14. lean — thin
  15. cap — a lid
  16. pop — soda
  17. lean — to rest against
  18. cap — of ice
  19. patient — a sick person
  20. spell — letters
  21. chip — in a computer
  22. chip — for betting
  23. plane — in geometry
  24. spell — a short time

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