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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 can't ________________ this cold.
  2. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  3. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  4. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  5. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  6. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  7. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  8. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  9. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  10. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  11. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  12. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  13. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  14. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  15. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  16. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  17. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  18. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.

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

Answer key

  1. stand — to bear
  2. lean — to rest against
  3. shower — to wash
  4. wind — moving air
  5. stand — on your feet
  6. lean — to bend
  7. current — of water
  8. shower — rain
  9. field — farmland
  10. shower — a meteor shower
  11. current — happening now
  12. stand — for spectators
  13. wind — moving air
  14. field — a subject
  15. field — for sport
  16. current — electric
  17. lean — thin
  18. wind — to turn a key

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