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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. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  2. I'll be taking the ________________.
  3. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  4. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  5. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  6. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  7. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  8. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  9. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  10. It's one o'clock ________________.
  11. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  12. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  13. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  14. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  15. The ________________ took off on time.
  16. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  17. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  18. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  19. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  20. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  21. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  22. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  23. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  24. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.

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

Answer key

  1. mark — to pay attention
  2. tube — the underground
  3. wound — an injury
  4. sharp — clever
  5. current — happening now
  6. current — electric
  7. kid — to tease
  8. mark — a grade
  9. wound — an injury
  10. sharp — exactly
  11. current — of water
  12. mark — a trace
  13. wake — before a funeral
  14. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  15. plane — an aircraft
  16. plane — in geometry
  17. sharp — with an edge
  18. plane — a tool
  19. wake — to stop sleeping
  20. wake — a trail
  21. kid — child
  22. wound — past of 'wind'
  23. tube — in a tire
  24. tube — a container

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