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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 116 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. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  2. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  3. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  4. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  5. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  6. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  7. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  8. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  9. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  10. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  11. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  12. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  13. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  14. That was a fun ________________.
  15. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  16. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  17. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  18. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  19. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  20. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  21. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  22. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  23. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  24. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a ring
  2. craft — a skill
  3. wind — moving air
  4. current — of water
  5. patient — a sick person
  6. fine — a penalty
  7. patient — a sick person
  8. craft — a handicraft
  9. perch — the fish
  10. game — a kind of play
  11. current — happening now
  12. current — electric
  13. patient — calm and waiting
  14. game — a match
  15. fine — high quality
  16. craft — boats
  17. perch — for a bird
  18. perch — for a bird
  19. wind — moving air
  20. wind — to turn a key
  21. game — wild animals
  22. band — a music group
  23. fine — all right
  24. band — a rubber band

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