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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. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  3. I can't ________________ this cold.
  4. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  5. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  6. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  7. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  8. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  9. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  10. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  11. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  12. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  13. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  14. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  15. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  16. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  17. He was locked up in a ________________.
  18. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  19. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  20. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  21. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  22. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  23. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  24. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.

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

Answer key

  1. current — of water
  2. current — electric
  3. stand — to bear
  4. drill — a practice
  5. shower — rain
  6. lie — an untruth
  7. drill — army training
  8. lie — an untruth
  9. cell — in biology
  10. shower — a meteor shower
  11. mine — belonging to me
  12. shower — to wash
  13. mine — an explosive
  14. mine — for digging
  15. current — happening now
  16. march — the month
  17. cell — in a prison
  18. drill — the tool
  19. march — the month
  20. lie — to recline
  21. march — music
  22. cell — a phone
  23. stand — for spectators
  24. stand — on your feet

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