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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.

Make a worksheet

Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

Words on the sheet
468
Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: staff · net · rush · chair · patient · current · kid · wind

  1. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  2. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  3. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  4. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  5. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  6. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  7. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  8. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  9. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  10. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  11. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  12. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  13. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  14. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  15. That must've been a ________________.
  16. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  17. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  18. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  19. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  20. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  21. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  22. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  23. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  24. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.

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

Answer key

  1. current — electric
  2. rush — hurry
  3. net — for catching
  4. chair — to sit on
  5. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  6. net — in sport
  7. kid — to tease
  8. wind — moving air
  9. chair — a professorship
  10. chair — a leader
  11. patient — a sick person
  12. kid — child
  13. wind — to turn a key
  14. staff — employees
  15. rush — a thrill
  16. patient — a sick person
  17. wind — moving air
  18. staff — a stick
  19. rush — to hurry
  20. patient — calm and waiting
  21. net — after costs
  22. current — of water
  23. staff — employees
  24. current — happening now

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