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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. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  2. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  3. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  4. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  5. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  6. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  7. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  8. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  9. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  10. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  11. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  12. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  13. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  14. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  15. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  16. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  17. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  18. That was ________________ to happen.
  19. This piece is in a major ________________.
  20. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  21. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  22. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  23. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  24. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — to wash
  2. branch — a division
  3. march — music
  4. bore — to tire
  5. bound — obliged
  6. current — happening now
  7. key — the most important part
  8. current — of water
  9. patient — a sick person
  10. bore — to drill
  11. branch — of a tree
  12. key — for a lock
  13. shower — a meteor shower
  14. patient — a sick person
  15. bore — gave birth
  16. current — electric
  17. march — the month
  18. bound — certain
  19. key — in music
  20. branch — of a bank
  21. march — the month
  22. patient — calm and waiting
  23. shower — rain
  24. bound — tied together

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