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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 124 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. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  2. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  3. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  4. He was locked up in a ________________.
  5. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  6. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  7. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  8. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  9. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  10. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  11. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  12. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  13. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  14. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  15. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  16. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  17. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  18. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  19. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  20. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  21. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  22. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  23. The water is too ________________.
  24. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — an explosive
  2. current — happening now
  3. current — electric
  4. cell — in a prison
  5. march — the month
  6. mine — belonging to me
  7. face — part of the head
  8. object — an aim
  9. cold — an illness
  10. toast — the most admired
  11. march — the month
  12. object — a thing
  13. cold — the Cold War
  14. mine — for digging
  15. face — to point toward
  16. cell — in biology
  17. toast — a drink to someone
  18. object — to protest
  19. current — of water
  20. cell — a phone
  21. face — to confront
  22. toast — bread
  23. cold — not warm
  24. march — music

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