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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. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  2. The water is too ________________.
  3. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  4. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  5. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  6. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  7. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  8. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  9. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  10. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  11. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  12. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  13. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  14. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  15. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  16. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  17. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  18. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  19. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  20. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  21. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  22. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  23. It's one o'clock ________________.
  24. He's quite ________________, isn't he?

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

Answer key

  1. current — of water
  2. cold — not warm
  3. bowl — a football final
  4. patient — a sick person
  5. patient — a sick person
  6. ruler — for measuring
  7. current — happening now
  8. present — a gift
  9. pass — to succeed
  10. pass — a permit
  11. bowl — a dish
  12. cold — an illness
  13. ruler — a monarch
  14. bowl — to roll
  15. patient — calm and waiting
  16. ruler — for measuring
  17. current — electric
  18. present — there
  19. pass — to spend time
  20. cold — the Cold War
  21. present — the time now
  22. sharp — with an edge
  23. sharp — exactly
  24. sharp — clever

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