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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: scale · current · straw · patient · squash · tear · racket · cold

  1. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  2. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  3. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  4. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  5. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  6. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  7. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  8. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  9. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  10. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  11. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  12. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  13. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  14. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  15. The water is too ________________.
  16. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  17. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  18. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  19. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  20. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  21. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  22. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  23. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  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. tear — to rip
  2. patient — a sick person
  3. patient — calm and waiting
  4. straw — a straw man
  5. current — electric
  6. racket — for tennis
  7. squash — to crush
  8. current — happening now
  9. cold — an illness
  10. current — of water
  11. squash — the sport
  12. racket — for tennis
  13. straw — to clutch at straws
  14. squash — the vegetable
  15. cold — not warm
  16. scale — in music
  17. scale — size or range
  18. cold — the Cold War
  19. scale — for weighing
  20. tear — from crying
  21. tear — from crying
  22. racket — a loud noise
  23. straw — dry grass
  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