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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. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  2. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  3. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  4. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  5. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  6. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  7. The water is too ________________.
  8. The tickets are free of ________________.
  9. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  10. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  11. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  12. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  13. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  14. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  15. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  16. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  17. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  18. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  19. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  20. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  21. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  22. The ________________ took off on time.
  23. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  24. He hit the ball with his ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — the Cold War
  2. band — a music group
  3. charge — electricity
  4. row — to paddle
  5. cold — an illness
  6. band — a rubber band
  7. cold — not warm
  8. charge — a price
  9. racket — a loud noise
  10. racket — for tennis
  11. plane — a tool
  12. current — happening now
  13. current — of water
  14. row — a quarrel
  15. current — electric
  16. straw — to clutch at straws
  17. band — a ring
  18. charge — in control
  19. straw — a straw man
  20. straw — dry grass
  21. row — a line
  22. plane — an aircraft
  23. plane — in geometry
  24. racket — for tennis

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