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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. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  2. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  3. That must've been a ________________.
  4. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  5. He was locked up in a ________________.
  6. Have you found your soul ________________?
  7. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  8. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  9. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  10. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  11. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  12. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  13. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  14. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  15. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  16. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  17. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  18. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  19. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  20. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  21. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  22. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  23. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  24. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — child
  2. bass — low music
  3. rush — a thrill
  4. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  5. cell — in a prison
  6. mate — a partner
  7. bass — the instrument
  8. cell — a phone
  9. bass — the fish
  10. current — of water
  11. rush — hurry
  12. drill — army training
  13. kid — to tease
  14. patient — calm and waiting
  15. mate — to breed
  16. patient — a sick person
  17. mate — a friend
  18. drill — a practice
  19. current — electric
  20. rush — to hurry
  21. drill — the tool
  22. patient — a sick person
  23. current — happening now
  24. cell — in biology

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