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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. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  2. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  3. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  4. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  5. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  6. The water is too ________________.
  7. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  8. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  9. Don't do anything ________________.
  10. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  11. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  12. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  13. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  14. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  15. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  16. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  17. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  18. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  19. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  20. That was ________________ to happen.
  21. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  22. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  23. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  24. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.

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

Answer key

  1. stick — a piece of wood
  2. rule — a law
  3. lean — thin
  4. rash — a series
  5. current — electric
  6. cold — not warm
  7. current — of water
  8. cold — the Cold War
  9. rash — hasty
  10. rule — to rule out
  11. lean — to bend
  12. rule — government
  13. bound — tied together
  14. stick — a piece of wood
  15. lean — to rest against
  16. stick — to attach or keep to
  17. patient — calm and waiting
  18. patient — a sick person
  19. cold — an illness
  20. bound — certain
  21. rash — on the skin
  22. patient — a sick person
  23. bound — obliged
  24. current — happening now

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