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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. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  2. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  3. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  4. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  5. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  6. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  7. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  8. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  9. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  10. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  11. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  12. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  13. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  14. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  15. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  16. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  17. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  18. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  19. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  20. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  21. The water is too ________________.
  22. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  23. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  24. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.

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

Answer key

  1. cap — of ice
  2. cold — the Cold War
  3. fan — a supporter
  4. current — happening now
  5. wake — before a funeral
  6. bat — for baseball
  7. wake — a trail
  8. vault — a safe
  9. vault — an arched ceiling
  10. current — of water
  11. vault — in gymnastics
  12. fan — a supporter
  13. bat — the animal
  14. chip — in a computer
  15. chip — to eat
  16. current — electric
  17. wake — to stop sleeping
  18. chip — for betting
  19. cold — an illness
  20. cap — a hat
  21. cold — not warm
  22. cap — a lid
  23. fan — to cool the air
  24. bat — in an idiom

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