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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 116 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. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  2. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  3. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  4. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  5. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  6. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  7. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  8. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  9. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  10. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  11. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  12. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  13. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  14. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  15. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  16. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  17. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  18. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  19. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  20. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  21. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  22. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  23. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  24. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — child
  2. snap — to snap out of it
  3. current — electric
  4. scale — in music
  5. rest — what's left
  6. snap — to speak sharply
  7. rest — what's left
  8. object — to protest
  9. scale — size or range
  10. snap — to click
  11. patient — calm and waiting
  12. patient — a sick person
  13. scale — for weighing
  14. object — an aim
  15. march — the month
  16. current — happening now
  17. rest — a break
  18. kid — to tease
  19. march — the month
  20. march — music
  21. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  22. current — of water
  23. object — a thing
  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