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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. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  2. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  3. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  4. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  5. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  6. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  7. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  8. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  9. That must've been a ________________.
  10. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  11. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  12. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  13. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  14. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  15. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  16. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  17. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  18. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  19. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  20. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  21. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  22. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  23. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  24. This looks like a gunshot ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — an injury
  2. track — a song
  3. fan — a supporter
  4. fan — to cool the air
  5. current — electric
  6. track — to keep track
  7. deal — an agreement
  8. rush — to hurry
  9. rush — a thrill
  10. wake — to stop sleeping
  11. deal — to handle
  12. wound — past of 'wind'
  13. fan — a supporter
  14. track — a path
  15. row — to paddle
  16. row — a quarrel
  17. current — of water
  18. rush — hurry
  19. row — a line
  20. deal — a big deal
  21. wake — before a funeral
  22. wake — a trail
  23. current — happening now
  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