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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: mug · patient · kid · club · spring · cabinet · date · current

  1. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  2. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  3. Have you settled on a ________________?
  4. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  5. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  6. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  7. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  8. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  9. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  10. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  11. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  12. Where did you ________________ them?
  13. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  14. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  15. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  16. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  17. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  18. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  19. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  20. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  21. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  22. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  23. What do you think of the new ________________?
  24. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. club — for golf
  2. club — a group
  3. date — on the calendar
  4. date — the fruit
  5. club — for dancing
  6. mug — a cup
  7. patient — a sick person
  8. cabinet — a cupboard
  9. current — electric
  10. spring — a coil
  11. date — on the calendar
  12. mug — to rob
  13. current — happening now
  14. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  15. kid — to tease
  16. spring — of water
  17. mug — a face
  18. spring — the season
  19. patient — calm and waiting
  20. kid — child
  21. cabinet — ministers
  22. current — of water
  23. cabinet — ministers
  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