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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. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  2. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  3. That must've been a ________________.
  4. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  5. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  6. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  7. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  8. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  9. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  10. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  11. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  12. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  13. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  14. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  15. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  16. I can't ________________ this cold.
  17. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  18. The water is too ________________.
  19. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  20. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  21. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  22. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  23. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  24. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.

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

Answer key

  1. current — happening now
  2. cap — a hat
  3. rush — a thrill
  4. kick — a thrill
  5. kick — with a leg
  6. cap — of ice
  7. prune — the fruit
  8. rush — to hurry
  9. dip — a sauce
  10. prune — to trim
  11. current — of water
  12. prune — to trim
  13. dip — to sink
  14. cold — the Cold War
  15. dip — to dunk
  16. stand — to bear
  17. rush — hurry
  18. cold — not warm
  19. current — electric
  20. stand — for spectators
  21. stand — on your feet
  22. cap — a lid
  23. cold — an illness
  24. kick — in football

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