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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. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  2. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  3. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  4. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  5. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  6. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  7. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  8. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  9. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  10. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  11. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  12. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  13. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  14. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  15. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  16. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  17. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  18. There's no middle ________________.
  19. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  20. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  21. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  22. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  23. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  24. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.

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

Answer key

  1. patient — calm and waiting
  2. current — of water
  3. rest — a break
  4. can — to be able to
  5. patient — a sick person
  6. current — happening now
  7. chest — of your body
  8. ground — the earth
  9. current — electric
  10. rest — what's left
  11. can — a tin
  12. ground — crushed
  13. scale — size or range
  14. bark — of a tree
  15. scale — in music
  16. chest — of your body
  17. patient — a sick person
  18. ground — a position
  19. scale — for weighing
  20. rest — what's left
  21. bark — to shout
  22. bark — a dog's sound
  23. can — a tin
  24. chest — a box

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