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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: dip · kick · current · rule · roll · cold · patient · mug

  1. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  2. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  3. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  4. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  5. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  6. Where did you ________________ them?
  7. We're on a ________________ here.
  8. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  9. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  10. The water is too ________________.
  11. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  12. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  13. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  14. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  15. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  16. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  17. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  18. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  19. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  20. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  21. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  22. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  23. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  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. mug — a face
  2. dip — a sauce
  3. rule — to rule out
  4. patient — a sick person
  5. roll — a list
  6. mug — to rob
  7. roll — on a roll
  8. mug — a cup
  9. cold — an illness
  10. cold — not warm
  11. patient — calm and waiting
  12. current — of water
  13. current — happening now
  14. kick — in football
  15. rule — government
  16. rule — a law
  17. dip — to sink
  18. kick — a thrill
  19. dip — to dunk
  20. kick — with a leg
  21. cold — the Cold War
  22. current — electric
  23. roll — a cake
  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