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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. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  2. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  3. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  4. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  5. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  6. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  7. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  8. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  9. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  10. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  11. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  12. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  13. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  14. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  15. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  16. That must've been a ________________.
  17. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  18. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  19. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  20. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  21. Have you settled on a ________________?
  22. Where did you ________________ them?
  23. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  24. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.

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

Answer key

  1. rush — hurry
  2. current — of water
  3. wind — moving air
  4. date — the fruit
  5. patient — a sick person
  6. patient — a sick person
  7. kid — child
  8. current — electric
  9. patient — calm and waiting
  10. date — on the calendar
  11. mug — a face
  12. mug — a cup
  13. bowl — a football final
  14. wind — moving air
  15. bowl — a dish
  16. rush — a thrill
  17. kid — to tease
  18. wind — to turn a key
  19. rush — to hurry
  20. current — happening now
  21. date — on the calendar
  22. mug — to rob
  23. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  24. bowl — to roll

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