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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. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  2. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  3. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  4. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  5. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  6. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  7. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  8. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  9. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  10. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  11. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  12. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  13. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  14. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  15. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  16. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  17. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  18. This looks like a gunshot ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wake — to stop sleeping
  2. wound — an injury
  3. file — a document
  4. row — to paddle
  5. wound — past of 'wind'
  6. current — happening now
  7. wave — with your hand
  8. current — of water
  9. wake — before a funeral
  10. wave — a sudden rise
  11. current — electric
  12. row — a quarrel
  13. file — a tool
  14. row — a line
  15. file — a line of people
  16. wave — of the sea
  17. wake — a trail
  18. wound — an injury

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