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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. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  2. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  3. He was locked up in a ________________.
  4. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  5. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  6. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  7. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  8. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  9. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  10. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  11. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  12. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  13. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  14. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  15. Have you met the new head ________________?
  16. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  17. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  18. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  19. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  20. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  21. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  22. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  23. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  24. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.

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

Answer key

  1. current — happening now
  2. wound — past of 'wind'
  3. cell — in a prison
  4. patient — a sick person
  5. tear — from crying
  6. tear — to rip
  7. current — electric
  8. wound — an injury
  9. coach — a trainer
  10. current — of water
  11. cell — a phone
  12. patient — calm and waiting
  13. fall — the season
  14. race — the arms race
  15. coach — a trainer
  16. fall — to drop
  17. race — a contest
  18. race — humankind
  19. wound — an injury
  20. tear — from crying
  21. coach — pulled by horses
  22. patient — a sick person
  23. cell — in biology
  24. fall — to drop

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