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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 116 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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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  2. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  3. False peace will not ________________.
  4. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  5. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  6. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  7. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  8. The ________________ went through the wall.
  9. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  10. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  11. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  12. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  13. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  14. He is an ace ________________.
  15. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  16. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  17. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  18. At ________________, we arrived at the village.

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

Answer key

  1. nail — on a finger
  2. last — final
  3. last — to go on
  4. wind — to turn a key
  5. current — of water
  6. wind — moving air
  7. cap — of ice
  8. nail — for a hammer
  9. pitcher — a jug
  10. current — electric
  11. wind — moving air
  12. current — happening now
  13. cap — a lid
  14. pitcher — in baseball
  15. nail — for a hammer
  16. pitcher — a jug
  17. cap — a hat
  18. last — finally

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