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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. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  2. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  3. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  4. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  5. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  6. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  7. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  8. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  9. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  10. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  11. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  12. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  13. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  14. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  15. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  16. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  17. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  18. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  19. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  20. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  21. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  22. The water is too ________________.
  23. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  24. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.

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

Answer key

  1. staff — employees
  2. craft — a handicraft
  3. hand — part of the body
  4. patient — a sick person
  5. pound — to hit hard
  6. pitch — a sales talk
  7. cold — an illness
  8. current — happening now
  9. pound — a weight
  10. craft — a skill
  11. patient — a sick person
  12. hand — help
  13. pitch — a sports field
  14. pound — for dogs
  15. current — of water
  16. current — electric
  17. patient — calm and waiting
  18. craft — boats
  19. hand — in cards
  20. staff — a stick
  21. staff — employees
  22. cold — not warm
  23. cold — the Cold War
  24. pitch — completely

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