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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. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  2. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  3. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  4. The water is too ________________.
  5. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  6. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  7. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  8. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  9. He was locked up in a ________________.
  10. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  11. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  12. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  13. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  14. She's very handy with a ________________.
  15. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  16. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  17. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  18. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  19. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  20. He works in a ________________ mill.
  21. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  22. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  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. band — a music group
  2. fork — a garden tool
  3. patient — calm and waiting
  4. cold — not warm
  5. current — electric
  6. safe — out of danger
  7. band — a rubber band
  8. fork — in a road
  9. cell — in a prison
  10. band — a ring
  11. fork — to eat with
  12. current — of water
  13. safe — out of danger
  14. saw — the tool
  15. cold — the Cold War
  16. patient — a sick person
  17. patient — a sick person
  18. cell — a phone
  19. saw — past of 'see'
  20. saw — the tool
  21. safe — a strongbox
  22. cold — an illness
  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