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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. I can't ________________ this cold.
  2. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  3. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  4. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  5. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  6. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  7. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  8. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  9. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  10. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  11. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  12. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  13. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  14. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  15. How do you ________________ your surname?
  16. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  17. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  18. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  19. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  20. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  21. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  22. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  23. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  24. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.

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

Answer key

  1. stand — to bear
  2. current — electric
  3. patient — a sick person
  4. track — to keep track
  5. spell — magic
  6. track — a song
  7. wound — past of 'wind'
  8. bank — for money
  9. current — happening now
  10. bank — for money
  11. stand — on your feet
  12. bank — of a river
  13. wound — an injury
  14. clip — for paper
  15. spell — letters
  16. patient — calm and waiting
  17. spell — a short time
  18. stand — for spectators
  19. track — a path
  20. clip — a video
  21. clip — to cut
  22. current — of water
  23. wound — an injury
  24. patient — a sick person

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