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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. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  2. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  3. We're almost out of ________________.
  4. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  5. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  6. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  7. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  8. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  9. There's no middle ________________.
  10. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  11. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  12. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  13. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  14. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  15. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  16. The ________________ took off on time.
  17. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  18. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  19. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  20. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  21. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  22. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  23. You don't need to ________________ round.
  24. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. patient — a sick person
  2. current — of water
  3. pop — soda
  4. wind — moving air
  5. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  6. pop — music
  7. plane — a tool
  8. patient — calm and waiting
  9. ground — a position
  10. kid — to tease
  11. drill — army training
  12. drill — the tool
  13. current — happening now
  14. drill — a practice
  15. ground — crushed
  16. plane — an aircraft
  17. patient — a sick person
  18. ground — the earth
  19. current — electric
  20. wind — moving air
  21. wind — to turn a key
  22. kid — child
  23. pop — to visit
  24. plane — in geometry

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