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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. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  2. When was this ________________ built?
  3. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  4. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  5. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  6. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  7. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  8. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  9. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  10. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  11. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  12. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  13. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  14. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  15. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  16. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  17. The water is too ________________.
  18. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  19. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  20. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  21. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  22. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  23. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  24. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.

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

Answer key

  1. current — of water
  2. temple — a place of worship
  3. wound — an injury
  4. temple — side of the head
  5. wound — an injury
  6. cap — of ice
  7. lash — a whip stroke
  8. fall — the season
  9. current — electric
  10. cold — an illness
  11. cap — a hat
  12. temple — a place of worship
  13. cap — a lid
  14. track — a song
  15. track — to keep track
  16. track — a path
  17. cold — not warm
  18. wound — past of 'wind'
  19. cold — the Cold War
  20. fall — to drop
  21. lash — to lash out
  22. current — happening now
  23. lash — an eyelash
  24. fall — to drop

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