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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 124 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. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  2. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  3. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  4. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  5. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  6. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  7. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  8. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  9. The water is too ________________.
  10. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  11. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  12. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  13. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  14. The King held a masked ________________.
  15. My father caught me by the ________________.
  16. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  17. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  18. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  19. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  20. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  21. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  22. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  23. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  24. She had a strange look on her ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — an illness
  2. ball — a great time
  3. current — electric
  4. cold — the Cold War
  5. can — a tin
  6. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  7. can — to be able to
  8. trunk — of an elephant
  9. cold — not warm
  10. can — a tin
  11. ball — a round shape
  12. kid — child
  13. arm — a part of something
  14. ball — a dance
  15. arm — part of the body
  16. trunk — of a car
  17. current — happening now
  18. current — of water
  19. arm — part of the body
  20. face — to point toward
  21. trunk — of a tree
  22. kid — to tease
  23. face — to confront
  24. face — part of the head

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