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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. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  2. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  3. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  4. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  5. How do you ________________ your surname?
  6. I can't ________________ this cold.
  7. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  8. False peace will not ________________.
  9. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  10. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  11. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  12. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  13. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  14. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  15. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  16. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  17. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  18. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  19. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  20. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  21. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  22. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  23. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  24. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. current — electric
  2. stand — on your feet
  3. bat — in an idiom
  4. current — happening now
  5. spell — letters
  6. stand — to bear
  7. bat — the animal
  8. last — to go on
  9. wind — moving air
  10. spell — magic
  11. wind — moving air
  12. wind — to turn a key
  13. bore — to tire
  14. last — final
  15. current — of water
  16. drill — a practice
  17. bore — gave birth
  18. drill — army training
  19. bat — for baseball
  20. bore — to drill
  21. spell — a short time
  22. drill — the tool
  23. last — finally
  24. stand — for spectators

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