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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. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  2. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  3. He was locked up in a ________________.
  4. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  5. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  6. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  7. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  8. We're on a ________________ here.
  9. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  10. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  11. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  12. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  13. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  14. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  15. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  16. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  17. The ball is in your ________________.
  18. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  19. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  20. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  21. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  22. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  23. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  24. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. current — of water
  2. mouse — for a computer
  3. cell — in a prison
  4. row — a line
  5. net — after costs
  6. patient — a sick person
  7. roll — a list
  8. roll — on a roll
  9. patient — calm and waiting
  10. row — a quarrel
  11. roll — a cake
  12. row — to paddle
  13. patient — a sick person
  14. cell — in biology
  15. current — happening now
  16. mouse — the animal
  17. court — for sport
  18. cell — a phone
  19. court — of law
  20. court — of a king
  21. net — for catching
  22. mouse — the animal
  23. net — in sport
  24. current — electric

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