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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. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  2. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  3. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  4. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  5. I'll be taking the ________________.
  6. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  7. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  8. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  9. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  10. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  11. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  12. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  13. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  14. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  15. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  16. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  17. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  18. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  19. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  20. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  21. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  22. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  23. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  24. She had a strange look on her ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. current — happening now
  2. face — to confront
  3. wind — moving air
  4. fan — a supporter
  5. tube — the underground
  6. fan — to cool the air
  7. current — of water
  8. tube — a container
  9. row — a quarrel
  10. bark — of a tree
  11. current — electric
  12. row — a line
  13. fan — a supporter
  14. row — to paddle
  15. bark — a dog's sound
  16. bark — to shout
  17. foot — a measure
  18. foot — the bottom
  19. foot — part of the body
  20. face — to point toward
  21. wind — to turn a key
  22. tube — in a tire
  23. wind — moving air
  24. face — part of the head

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