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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. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  2. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  3. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  4. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  5. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  6. Where did you ________________ them?
  7. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  8. What do you think of the new ________________?
  9. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  10. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  11. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  12. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  13. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  14. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  15. How do you ________________ your surname?
  16. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  17. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  18. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  19. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  20. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  21. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  22. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  23. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  24. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.

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

Answer key

  1. current — electric
  2. spell — a short time
  3. bowl — a football final
  4. bowl — a dish
  5. tear — from crying
  6. mug — to rob
  7. cabinet — ministers
  8. cabinet — ministers
  9. tear — to rip
  10. patient — calm and waiting
  11. mug — a face
  12. tear — from crying
  13. spell — magic
  14. patient — a sick person
  15. spell — letters
  16. field — for sport
  17. current — happening now
  18. field — farmland
  19. current — of water
  20. cabinet — a cupboard
  21. patient — a sick person
  22. mug — a cup
  23. field — a subject
  24. bowl — to roll

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