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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. False peace will not ________________.
  2. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  3. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  4. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  5. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  6. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  7. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  8. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  9. I can't ________________ this cold.
  10. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  11. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  12. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  13. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  14. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  15. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  16. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  17. Don't do anything ________________.
  18. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  19. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  20. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  21. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  22. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  23. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  24. I had a ________________ with my boss today.

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

Answer key

  1. last — to go on
  2. wind — moving air
  3. current — of water
  4. current — happening now
  5. bat — the animal
  6. wind — moving air
  7. club — for golf
  8. stand — for spectators
  9. stand — to bear
  10. club — for dancing
  11. rash — on the skin
  12. current — electric
  13. rash — a series
  14. stand — on your feet
  15. bat — in an idiom
  16. bat — for baseball
  17. rash — hasty
  18. last — final
  19. row — to paddle
  20. row — a line
  21. wind — to turn a key
  22. club — a group
  23. last — finally
  24. row — a quarrel

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