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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. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  2. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  3. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  4. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  5. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  6. The water is too ________________.
  7. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  8. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  9. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  10. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  11. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  12. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  13. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  14. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  15. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  16. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  17. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  18. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  19. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  20. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  21. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  22. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  23. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  24. The ________________ went through the wall.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — an injury
  2. mouse — the animal
  3. wave — of the sea
  4. nail — on a finger
  5. wave — with your hand
  6. cold — not warm
  7. kid — child
  8. current — electric
  9. nail — for a hammer
  10. bore — to drill
  11. wound — an injury
  12. current — happening now
  13. bore — gave birth
  14. cold — the Cold War
  15. wave — a sudden rise
  16. current — of water
  17. mouse — the animal
  18. wound — past of 'wind'
  19. mouse — for a computer
  20. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  21. cold — an illness
  22. bore — to tire
  23. kid — to tease
  24. nail — for a hammer

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