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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. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  2. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  3. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  4. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  5. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  6. He is an ace ________________.
  7. Have you found your soul ________________?
  8. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  9. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  10. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  11. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  12. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  13. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  14. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  15. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  16. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  17. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  18. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  19. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  20. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  21. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  22. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  23. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  24. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — a friend
  2. pitcher — a jug
  3. current — of water
  4. rule — a law
  5. mate — to breed
  6. pitcher — in baseball
  7. mate — a partner
  8. patient — a sick person
  9. scale — in music
  10. pitcher — a jug
  11. scale — for weighing
  12. chest — a box
  13. patient — calm and waiting
  14. shower — to wash
  15. chest — of your body
  16. rule — government
  17. chest — of your body
  18. scale — size or range
  19. current — happening now
  20. rule — to rule out
  21. shower — a meteor shower
  22. patient — a sick person
  23. shower — rain
  24. current — electric

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