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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. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  2. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  3. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  4. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  5. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  6. When are we going to ________________?
  7. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  8. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  9. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  10. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  11. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  12. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  13. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  14. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  15. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  16. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  17. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  18. The King held a masked ________________.
  19. Have you found your soul ________________?
  20. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  21. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  22. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  23. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  24. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.

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

Answer key

  1. current — electric
  2. mate — a friend
  3. spring — of water
  4. land — a country
  5. spring — the season
  6. land — to come down
  7. patient — a sick person
  8. wound — an injury
  9. wound — past of 'wind'
  10. dip — to dunk
  11. mate — to breed
  12. wound — an injury
  13. dip — a sauce
  14. ball — a great time
  15. current — of water
  16. land — ground
  17. patient — a sick person
  18. ball — a dance
  19. mate — a partner
  20. current — happening now
  21. spring — a coil
  22. ball — a round shape
  23. patient — calm and waiting
  24. dip — to sink

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