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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. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  2. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  3. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  4. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  5. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  6. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  7. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  8. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  9. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  10. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  11. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  12. He was locked up in a ________________.
  13. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  14. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  15. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  16. The light ________________ burned out.
  17. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  18. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  19. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  20. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  21. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  22. I've got to change the light ________________.
  23. I'll be taking the ________________.
  24. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.

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

Answer key

  1. stick — a piece of wood
  2. cap — a hat
  3. net — in sport
  4. stick — a piece of wood
  5. current — of water
  6. patient — calm and waiting
  7. cap — of ice
  8. cell — a phone
  9. cell — in biology
  10. tube — a container
  11. current — electric
  12. cell — in a prison
  13. patient — a sick person
  14. cap — a lid
  15. net — after costs
  16. bulb — for light
  17. current — happening now
  18. patient — a sick person
  19. tube — in a tire
  20. net — for catching
  21. stick — to attach or keep to
  22. bulb — for light
  23. tube — the underground
  24. bulb — of a plant

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