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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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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 · current · straw · bound · patient · race · bass · wave

  1. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  2. That was ________________ to happen.
  3. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  4. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  5. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  6. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  7. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  8. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  9. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  10. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  11. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  12. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  13. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  14. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  15. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  16. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  17. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  18. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  19. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  20. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  21. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  22. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  23. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  24. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.

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

Answer key

  1. current — electric
  2. bound — certain
  3. staff — employees
  4. wave — of the sea
  5. bound — obliged
  6. patient — a sick person
  7. bass — the fish
  8. patient — calm and waiting
  9. bass — the instrument
  10. current — happening now
  11. staff — employees
  12. patient — a sick person
  13. staff — a stick
  14. straw — dry grass
  15. straw — a straw man
  16. current — of water
  17. straw — to clutch at straws
  18. wave — with your hand
  19. race — the arms race
  20. bound — tied together
  21. race — humankind
  22. bass — low music
  23. race — a contest
  24. wave — a sudden rise

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