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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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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: current · bat · patient · face · spring · sharp · swing · nail

  1. The ________________ went through the wall.
  2. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  3. It's one o'clock ________________.
  4. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  5. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  6. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  7. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  8. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  9. David sat on the ________________.
  10. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  11. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  12. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  13. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  14. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  15. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  16. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  17. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  18. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  19. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  20. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  21. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  22. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  23. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  24. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.

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

Answer key

  1. nail — for a hammer
  2. current — electric
  3. sharp — exactly
  4. spring — the season
  5. swing — in golf
  6. swing — music
  7. nail — for a hammer
  8. current — happening now
  9. swing — to play on
  10. current — of water
  11. face — to confront
  12. bat — the animal
  13. face — part of the head
  14. sharp — clever
  15. patient — a sick person
  16. patient — a sick person
  17. nail — on a finger
  18. spring — of water
  19. face — to point toward
  20. bat — for baseball
  21. spring — a coil
  22. sharp — with an edge
  23. patient — calm and waiting
  24. bat — in an idiom

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