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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. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  2. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  3. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  4. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  5. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  6. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  7. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  8. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  9. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  10. How do you ________________ your surname?
  11. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  12. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  13. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  14. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  15. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  16. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  17. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  18. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  19. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  20. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  21. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  22. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  23. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  24. This looks like a gunshot ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — rain
  2. current — happening now
  3. wound — past of 'wind'
  4. wake — a trail
  5. spring — the season
  6. spring — a coil
  7. fan — a supporter
  8. band — a music group
  9. shower — to wash
  10. spell — letters
  11. wake — to stop sleeping
  12. fan — to cool the air
  13. wound — an injury
  14. spell — a short time
  15. spell — magic
  16. current — electric
  17. shower — a meteor shower
  18. band — a ring
  19. spring — of water
  20. current — of water
  21. wake — before a funeral
  22. band — a rubber band
  23. fan — a supporter
  24. wound — an injury

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