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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 120 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. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  2. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  3. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  4. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  5. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  6. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  7. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  8. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  9. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  10. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  11. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  12. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  13. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  14. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  15. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  16. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  17. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  18. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  19. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  20. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  21. The ________________ went through the wall.
  22. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  23. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  24. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.

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

Answer key

  1. nail — on a finger
  2. current — electric
  3. wake — to stop sleeping
  4. pitch — a sports field
  5. current — happening now
  6. current — of water
  7. track — a path
  8. kid — child
  9. kid — to tease
  10. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  11. spring — the season
  12. spring — a coil
  13. track — to keep track
  14. patient — calm and waiting
  15. patient — a sick person
  16. patient — a sick person
  17. spring — of water
  18. wake — a trail
  19. track — a song
  20. pitch — completely
  21. nail — for a hammer
  22. wake — before a funeral
  23. pitch — a sales talk
  24. nail — for a hammer

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