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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. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  2. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  3. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  4. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  5. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  6. That was a fun ________________.
  7. That must've been a ________________.
  8. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  9. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  10. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  11. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  12. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  13. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  14. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  15. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  16. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  17. When was this ________________ built?
  18. The ________________ went through the wall.
  19. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  20. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  21. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  22. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  23. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  24. The water is too ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. current — of water
  2. game — a kind of play
  3. nail — for a hammer
  4. cold — an illness
  5. rush — hurry
  6. game — a match
  7. rush — a thrill
  8. chair — a leader
  9. cold — the Cold War
  10. nail — on a finger
  11. rush — to hurry
  12. snap — to snap out of it
  13. chair — a professorship
  14. game — wild animals
  15. current — electric
  16. chair — to sit on
  17. temple — a place of worship
  18. nail — for a hammer
  19. snap — to click
  20. temple — side of the head
  21. current — happening now
  22. temple — a place of worship
  23. snap — to speak sharply
  24. cold — not warm

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