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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. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  2. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  3. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  4. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  5. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  6. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  7. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  8. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  9. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  10. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  11. He was locked up in a ________________.
  12. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  13. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  14. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  15. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  16. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  17. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  18. We ________________ up on opposing sides.

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

Answer key

  1. rock — music
  2. march — the month
  3. march — music
  4. current — electric
  5. cell — in biology
  6. march — the month
  7. rock — a stone
  8. fall — to drop
  9. cell — a phone
  10. current — happening now
  11. cell — in a prison
  12. fall — the season
  13. wound — an injury
  14. rock — to move gently
  15. fall — to drop
  16. wound — an injury
  17. current — of water
  18. wound — past of 'wind'

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