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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. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  2. The ________________ took off on time.
  3. Don't do anything ________________.
  4. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  5. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  6. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  7. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  8. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  9. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  10. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  11. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  12. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  13. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  14. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  15. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  16. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  17. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  18. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  19. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  20. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  21. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  22. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  23. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  24. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.

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

Answer key

  1. patient — a sick person
  2. plane — an aircraft
  3. rash — hasty
  4. straw — to clutch at straws
  5. straw — a straw man
  6. chair — a leader
  7. file — a tool
  8. patient — calm and waiting
  9. capital — a city
  10. capital — money
  11. file — a line of people
  12. current — of water
  13. patient — a sick person
  14. chair — to sit on
  15. capital — a big letter
  16. current — electric
  17. plane — in geometry
  18. rash — a series
  19. rash — on the skin
  20. chair — a professorship
  21. plane — a tool
  22. current — happening now
  23. straw — dry grass
  24. file — a document

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