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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. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  2. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  3. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  4. David sat on the ________________.
  5. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  6. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  7. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  8. The water is too ________________.
  9. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  10. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  11. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  12. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  13. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  14. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  15. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  16. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  17. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  18. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — an illness
  2. swing — in golf
  3. current — electric
  4. swing — to play on
  5. fall — the season
  6. current — of water
  7. fall — to drop
  8. cold — not warm
  9. cold — the Cold War
  10. bear — to put up with
  11. kid — child
  12. swing — music
  13. kid — to tease
  14. bear — the animal
  15. bear — the animal
  16. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  17. fall — to drop
  18. current — happening now

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