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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. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  2. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  3. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  4. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  5. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  6. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  7. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  8. Have you settled on a ________________?
  9. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  10. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  11. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  12. Did you ________________ the button?
  13. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  14. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  15. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  16. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  17. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  18. That was a fun ________________.
  19. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  20. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  21. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  22. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  23. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  24. He hit the ball with his ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. racket — for tennis
  2. current — happening now
  3. current — electric
  4. file — a document
  5. patient — a sick person
  6. game — wild animals
  7. patient — a sick person
  8. date — on the calendar
  9. press — newspapers
  10. racket — a loud noise
  11. patient — calm and waiting
  12. press — to push
  13. date — the fruit
  14. file — a line of people
  15. press — a publisher
  16. date — on the calendar
  17. file — a tool
  18. game — a match
  19. current — of water
  20. tear — from crying
  21. game — a kind of play
  22. tear — to rip
  23. tear — from crying
  24. racket — for tennis

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