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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. That must've been a ________________.
  2. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  3. The water is too ________________.
  4. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  5. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  6. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  7. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  8. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  9. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  10. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  11. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  12. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  13. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  14. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  15. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  16. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  17. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  18. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  19. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  20. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  21. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  22. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  23. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  24. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.

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

Answer key

  1. rush — a thrill
  2. current — happening now
  3. cold — not warm
  4. jam — in traffic
  5. current — of water
  6. cue — a signal
  7. rush — to hurry
  8. current — electric
  9. jam — to spread on bread
  10. cue — a hint
  11. track — to keep track
  12. cue — for pool
  13. fall — the season
  14. fall — to drop
  15. bat — in an idiom
  16. jam — a tight spot
  17. cold — an illness
  18. fall — to drop
  19. track — a song
  20. bat — for baseball
  21. track — a path
  22. rush — hurry
  23. bat — the animal
  24. cold — the Cold War

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