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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 water is too ________________.
  2. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  3. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  4. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  5. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  6. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  7. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  8. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  9. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  10. Did you ________________ the meat?
  11. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  12. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  13. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  14. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  15. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  16. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  17. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  18. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  19. He is an ace ________________.
  20. The ________________ took off on time.
  21. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  22. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  23. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  24. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — not warm
  2. season — in sport
  3. mark — to pay attention
  4. current — electric
  5. patient — a sick person
  6. season — of the year
  7. pass — to succeed
  8. cold — the Cold War
  9. pitcher — a jug
  10. season — to add flavour
  11. mark — a grade
  12. patient — calm and waiting
  13. pass — a permit
  14. cold — an illness
  15. current — happening now
  16. pass — to spend time
  17. mark — a trace
  18. patient — a sick person
  19. pitcher — in baseball
  20. plane — an aircraft
  21. plane — a tool
  22. plane — in geometry
  23. current — of water
  24. pitcher — a jug

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