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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. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  3. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  4. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  5. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  6. She's very handy with a ________________.
  7. He works in a ________________ mill.
  8. That was a fun ________________.
  9. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  10. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  11. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  12. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  13. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  14. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  15. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  16. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  17. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  18. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  19. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  20. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  21. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  22. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  23. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  24. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. current — of water
  2. bat — for baseball
  3. current — electric
  4. wave — with your hand
  5. pound — a weight
  6. saw — the tool
  7. saw — the tool
  8. game — a match
  9. pound — for dogs
  10. pound — to hit hard
  11. current — happening now
  12. bat — in an idiom
  13. wake — before a funeral
  14. wave — a sudden rise
  15. wake — a trail
  16. bass — the instrument
  17. wave — of the sea
  18. wake — to stop sleeping
  19. bat — the animal
  20. bass — low music
  21. game — a kind of play
  22. game — wild animals
  23. saw — past of 'see'
  24. bass — the fish

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