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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: cap · current · chest · tear · fan · club · patient · key

  1. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  2. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  3. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  4. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  5. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  6. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  7. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  8. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  9. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  10. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  11. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  12. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  13. This piece is in a major ________________.
  14. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  15. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  16. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  17. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  18. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  19. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  20. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  21. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  22. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  23. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  24. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?

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

Answer key

  1. club — a group
  2. chest — of your body
  3. cap — a lid
  4. current — of water
  5. current — happening now
  6. chest — a box
  7. cap — a hat
  8. key — the most important part
  9. tear — to rip
  10. chest — of your body
  11. cap — of ice
  12. patient — calm and waiting
  13. key — in music
  14. current — electric
  15. tear — from crying
  16. fan — a supporter
  17. tear — from crying
  18. fan — a supporter
  19. fan — to cool the air
  20. club — for golf
  21. patient — a sick person
  22. patient — a sick person
  23. club — for dancing
  24. key — for a lock

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