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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. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  2. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  3. He was locked up in a ________________.
  4. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  5. False peace will not ________________.
  6. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  7. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  8. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  9. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  10. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  11. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  12. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  13. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  14. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  15. There's no middle ________________.
  16. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  17. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  18. That was ________________ to happen.
  19. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  20. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  21. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  22. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  23. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  24. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.

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

Answer key

  1. current — happening now
  2. last — final
  3. cell — in a prison
  4. cell — in biology
  5. last — to go on
  6. wind — moving air
  7. current — of water
  8. cell — a phone
  9. ground — crushed
  10. wind — moving air
  11. bank — for money
  12. deal — an agreement
  13. bank — for money
  14. last — finally
  15. ground — a position
  16. ground — the earth
  17. current — electric
  18. bound — certain
  19. bank — of a river
  20. bound — obliged
  21. wind — to turn a key
  22. bound — tied together
  23. deal — a big deal
  24. deal — to handle

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