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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. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  3. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  4. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  5. How do you ________________ your surname?
  6. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  7. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  8. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  9. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  10. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  11. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  12. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  13. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  14. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  15. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  16. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  17. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  18. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  19. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  20. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  21. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  22. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  23. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  24. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. current — of water
  2. hand — in cards
  3. band — a music group
  4. hand — help
  5. spell — letters
  6. root — the cause
  7. lash — an eyelash
  8. fine — a penalty
  9. wind — moving air
  10. hand — part of the body
  11. spell — a short time
  12. wind — moving air
  13. wind — to turn a key
  14. band — a ring
  15. fine — all right
  16. lash — a whip stroke
  17. current — happening now
  18. spell — magic
  19. band — a rubber band
  20. fine — high quality
  21. root — of a plant
  22. root — of a word
  23. lash — to lash out
  24. current — electric

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