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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. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  2. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  3. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  4. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  5. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  6. The water is too ________________.
  7. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  8. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  9. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  10. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  11. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  12. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  13. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  14. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  15. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  16. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  17. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  18. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  19. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  20. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  21. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  22. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  23. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  24. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — an injury
  2. current — of water
  3. cold — an illness
  4. staff — employees
  5. pit — a fruit stone
  6. cold — not warm
  7. wound — past of 'wind'
  8. net — in sport
  9. pit — a hole
  10. scale — for weighing
  11. scale — size or range
  12. wound — an injury
  13. cold — the Cold War
  14. net — after costs
  15. lean — to rest against
  16. lean — to bend
  17. current — happening now
  18. lean — thin
  19. pit — in a race
  20. staff — a stick
  21. scale — in music
  22. net — for catching
  23. current — electric
  24. staff — employees

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