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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. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  2. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  3. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  4. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  5. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  6. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  7. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  8. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  9. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  10. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  11. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  12. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  13. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  14. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  15. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  16. You don't need to ________________ round.
  17. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  18. He was locked up in a ________________.
  19. We're almost out of ________________.
  20. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  21. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  22. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  23. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  24. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.

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

Answer key

  1. drill — the tool
  2. straw — to clutch at straws
  3. patient — a sick person
  4. pop — music
  5. can — to be able to
  6. current — happening now
  7. can — a tin
  8. current — of water
  9. straw — a straw man
  10. patient — calm and waiting
  11. march — music
  12. current — electric
  13. straw — dry grass
  14. drill — army training
  15. cell — in biology
  16. pop — to visit
  17. drill — a practice
  18. cell — in a prison
  19. pop — soda
  20. cell — a phone
  21. march — the month
  22. patient — a sick person
  23. can — a tin
  24. march — the month

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