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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 farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  2. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  3. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  4. That was a fun ________________.
  5. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  6. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  7. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  8. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  9. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  10. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  11. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  12. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  13. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  14. My father caught me by the ________________.
  15. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  16. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  17. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  18. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  19. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  20. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  21. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  22. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  23. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  24. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.

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

Answer key

  1. patient — calm and waiting
  2. bowl — to roll
  3. arm — part of the body
  4. game — a match
  5. current — electric
  6. bowl — a football final
  7. wind — to turn a key
  8. game — wild animals
  9. wind — moving air
  10. current — of water
  11. patient — a sick person
  12. bowl — a dish
  13. trunk — of a tree
  14. arm — part of the body
  15. file — a document
  16. file — a line of people
  17. trunk — of a car
  18. wind — moving air
  19. arm — a part of something
  20. file — a tool
  21. trunk — of an elephant
  22. current — happening now
  23. game — a kind of play
  24. patient — a sick person

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