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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 116 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. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  2. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  3. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  4. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  5. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  6. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  7. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  8. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  9. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  10. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  11. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  12. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  13. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  14. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  15. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  16. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  17. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  18. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  19. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  20. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  21. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  22. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  23. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  24. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. present — there
  2. present — a gift
  3. race — a contest
  4. bat — in an idiom
  5. patient — a sick person
  6. lash — to lash out
  7. lash — a whip stroke
  8. current — of water
  9. wind — moving air
  10. current — electric
  11. current — happening now
  12. field — for sport
  13. patient — calm and waiting
  14. wind — to turn a key
  15. present — the time now
  16. patient — a sick person
  17. bat — the animal
  18. race — humankind
  19. bat — for baseball
  20. lash — an eyelash
  21. field — farmland
  22. wind — moving air
  23. field — a subject
  24. race — the arms race

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