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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. Where did you ________________ them?
  2. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  3. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  4. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  5. False peace will not ________________.
  6. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  7. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  8. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  9. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  10. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  11. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  12. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  13. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  14. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  15. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  16. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  17. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  18. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  19. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  20. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  21. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  22. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  23. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  24. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.

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

Answer key

  1. mug — to rob
  2. mug — a face
  3. mug — a cup
  4. field — for sport
  5. last — to go on
  6. shower — to wash
  7. patient — a sick person
  8. pass — to spend time
  9. last — final
  10. patient — calm and waiting
  11. patient — a sick person
  12. current — of water
  13. field — a subject
  14. last — finally
  15. shower — rain
  16. pass — to succeed
  17. field — farmland
  18. pass — a permit
  19. shower — a meteor shower
  20. current — electric
  21. branch — of a bank
  22. current — happening now
  23. branch — a division
  24. branch — of a tree

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