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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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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 · wound · patient · tear · bear · lean · rule

  1. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  2. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  3. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  4. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  5. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  6. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  7. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  8. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  9. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  10. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  11. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  12. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  13. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  14. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  15. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  16. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  17. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  18. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  19. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  20. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  21. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  22. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  23. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  24. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.

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

Answer key

  1. current — electric
  2. bear — the animal
  3. wound — past of 'wind'
  4. tear — from crying
  5. wound — an injury
  6. lean — to bend
  7. tear — from crying
  8. bat — in an idiom
  9. bear — the animal
  10. current — of water
  11. current — happening now
  12. bat — for baseball
  13. rule — a law
  14. rule — government
  15. lean — to rest against
  16. rule — to rule out
  17. bat — the animal
  18. bear — to put up with
  19. patient — calm and waiting
  20. wound — an injury
  21. lean — thin
  22. tear — to rip
  23. patient — a sick person
  24. patient — a sick person

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