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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. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  2. The water is too ________________.
  3. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  4. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  5. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  6. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  7. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  8. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  9. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  10. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  11. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  12. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  13. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  14. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  15. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  16. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  17. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  18. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  19. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  20. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  21. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  22. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  23. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  24. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.

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

Answer key

  1. track — a song
  2. cold — not warm
  3. staff — a stick
  4. current — happening now
  5. march — music
  6. patient — a sick person
  7. march — the month
  8. track — to keep track
  9. march — the month
  10. craft — boats
  11. track — a path
  12. current — electric
  13. staff — employees
  14. staff — employees
  15. patient — calm and waiting
  16. wind — to turn a key
  17. wind — moving air
  18. current — of water
  19. patient — a sick person
  20. craft — a handicraft
  21. wind — moving air
  22. cold — the Cold War
  23. craft — a skill
  24. cold — an illness

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