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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 116 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. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  2. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  3. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  4. We're almost out of ________________.
  5. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  6. He works in a ________________ mill.
  7. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  8. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  9. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  10. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  11. You don't need to ________________ round.
  12. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  13. The water is too ________________.
  14. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  15. She's very handy with a ________________.
  16. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  17. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  18. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  19. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  20. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  21. The ________________ went through the wall.
  22. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  23. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  24. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — an illness
  2. lash — a whip stroke
  3. nail — for a hammer
  4. pop — soda
  5. field — for sport
  6. saw — the tool
  7. saw — past of 'see'
  8. cold — the Cold War
  9. pop — music
  10. leaves — lets stay
  11. pop — to visit
  12. lash — an eyelash
  13. cold — not warm
  14. field — a subject
  15. saw — the tool
  16. field — farmland
  17. lash — to lash out
  18. current — happening now
  19. leaves — to go away
  20. leaves — of a tree
  21. nail — for a hammer
  22. current — of water
  23. nail — on a finger
  24. current — electric

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