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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. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  2. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  3. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  4. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  5. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  6. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  7. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  8. The light ________________ burned out.
  9. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  10. I've got to change the light ________________.
  11. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  12. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  13. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  14. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  15. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  16. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  17. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  18. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  19. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  20. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  21. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  22. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  23. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  24. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — moving air
  2. current — of water
  3. wind — moving air
  4. hide — animal skin
  5. content — happy
  6. bulb — of a plant
  7. current — electric
  8. bulb — for light
  9. mine — belonging to me
  10. bulb — for light
  11. mine — for digging
  12. current — happening now
  13. chest — of your body
  14. chest — of your body
  15. object — a thing
  16. wind — to turn a key
  17. hide — to keep secret
  18. mine — an explosive
  19. hide — to keep secret
  20. content — videos and posts
  21. content — the amount
  22. object — to protest
  23. object — an aim
  24. chest — a box

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