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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 120 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. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  2. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  3. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  4. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  5. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  6. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  7. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  8. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  9. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  10. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  11. The water is too ________________.
  12. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  13. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  14. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  15. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  16. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  17. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  18. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.

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

Answer key

  1. staff — employees
  2. current — electric
  3. fork — a garden tool
  4. current — of water
  5. hide — to keep secret
  6. fan — to cool the air
  7. fan — a supporter
  8. fork — to eat with
  9. staff — a stick
  10. current — happening now
  11. cold — not warm
  12. staff — employees
  13. fork — in a road
  14. cold — an illness
  15. hide — to keep secret
  16. cold — the Cold War
  17. fan — a supporter
  18. hide — animal skin

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