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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. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  2. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  3. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  4. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  5. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  6. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  7. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  8. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  9. The King held a masked ________________.
  10. The ball is in your ________________.
  11. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  12. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  13. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  14. When are we going to ________________?
  15. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  16. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  17. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  18. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  19. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  20. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  21. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  22. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  23. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  24. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. leaves — lets stay
  2. ball — a great time
  3. lash — to lash out
  4. lash — an eyelash
  5. wound — past of 'wind'
  6. land — a country
  7. current — happening now
  8. file — a line of people
  9. ball — a dance
  10. court — for sport
  11. court — of law
  12. lash — a whip stroke
  13. file — a tool
  14. land — to come down
  15. land — ground
  16. leaves — to go away
  17. leaves — of a tree
  18. wound — an injury
  19. wound — an injury
  20. court — of a king
  21. ball — a round shape
  22. file — a document
  23. current — of water
  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