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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. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  3. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  4. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  5. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  6. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  7. The King held a masked ________________.
  8. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  9. Have you found your soul ________________?
  10. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  11. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  12. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  13. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  14. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  15. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  16. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  17. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  18. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  19. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  20. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  21. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  22. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  23. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  24. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.

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

Answer key

  1. current — of water
  2. present — the time now
  3. mate — to breed
  4. wind — to turn a key
  5. current — happening now
  6. wound — an injury
  7. ball — a dance
  8. wound — an injury
  9. mate — a partner
  10. fan — to cool the air
  11. wind — moving air
  12. wind — moving air
  13. fan — a supporter
  14. fork — in a road
  15. current — electric
  16. fork — a garden tool
  17. present — there
  18. mate — a friend
  19. ball — a round shape
  20. fork — to eat with
  21. present — a gift
  22. wound — past of 'wind'
  23. fan — a supporter
  24. ball — a great time

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