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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. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  2. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  3. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  4. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  5. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  6. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  7. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  8. David sat on the ________________.
  9. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  10. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  11. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  12. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  13. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  14. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  15. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  16. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  17. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  18. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  19. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  20. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  21. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  22. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  23. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  24. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.

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

Answer key

  1. current — happening now
  2. spring — the season
  3. mouse — for a computer
  4. wound — an injury
  5. mouse — the animal
  6. drill — the tool
  7. kid — to tease
  8. swing — to play on
  9. spring — a coil
  10. mouse — the animal
  11. swing — music
  12. firm — a company
  13. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  14. swing — in golf
  15. wound — past of 'wind'
  16. drill — army training
  17. kid — child
  18. firm — decided
  19. current — of water
  20. wound — an injury
  21. drill — a practice
  22. current — electric
  23. spring — of water
  24. firm — steady

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