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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. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  2. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  3. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  4. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  5. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  6. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  7. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  8. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  9. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  10. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  11. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  12. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  13. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  14. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  15. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  16. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  17. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  18. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  19. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  20. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  21. The water is too ________________.
  22. That must've been a ________________.
  23. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  24. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.

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

Answer key

  1. pass — a permit
  2. fork — to eat with
  3. kid — child
  4. patient — a sick person
  5. current — electric
  6. kid — to tease
  7. rush — hurry
  8. pass — to succeed
  9. object — a thing
  10. object — an aim
  11. object — to protest
  12. cold — an illness
  13. current — of water
  14. pass — to spend time
  15. fork — in a road
  16. patient — a sick person
  17. cold — the Cold War
  18. patient — calm and waiting
  19. rush — to hurry
  20. current — happening now
  21. cold — not warm
  22. rush — a thrill
  23. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  24. fork — a garden tool

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