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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. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  3. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  4. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  5. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  6. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  7. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  8. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  9. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  10. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  11. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  12. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  13. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  14. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  15. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  16. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  17. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  18. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  19. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  20. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  21. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  22. We're on a ________________ here.
  23. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  24. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.

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

Answer key

  1. patient — calm and waiting
  2. bat — in an idiom
  3. wind — moving air
  4. roll — a list
  5. current — of water
  6. leaves — of a tree
  7. current — happening now
  8. squash — the sport
  9. leaves — to go away
  10. patient — a sick person
  11. bat — for baseball
  12. roll — a cake
  13. wind — to turn a key
  14. wind — moving air
  15. squash — the vegetable
  16. leaves — lets stay
  17. wound — an injury
  18. bat — the animal
  19. current — electric
  20. patient — a sick person
  21. wound — past of 'wind'
  22. roll — on a roll
  23. wound — an injury
  24. squash — to crush

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