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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. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  2. That was a fun ________________.
  3. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  4. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  5. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  6. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  7. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  8. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  9. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  10. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  11. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  12. My mare is ________________ in color.
  13. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  14. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  15. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  16. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  17. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  18. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  19. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  20. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  21. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  22. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  23. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  24. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.

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

Answer key

  1. current — of water
  2. game — a match
  3. band — a music group
  4. firm — a company
  5. band — a rubber band
  6. snap — to speak sharply
  7. current — electric
  8. snap — to click
  9. bay — to keep at bay
  10. firm — steady
  11. bay — a part of the sea
  12. bay — a horse colour
  13. current — happening now
  14. rest — a break
  15. rest — what's left
  16. firm — decided
  17. band — a ring
  18. wound — an injury
  19. game — a kind of play
  20. rest — what's left
  21. wound — an injury
  22. game — wild animals
  23. wound — past of 'wind'
  24. snap — to snap out of it

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