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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. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  2. He works in a ________________ mill.
  3. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  4. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  5. The water is too ________________.
  6. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  7. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  8. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  9. The ball is in your ________________.
  10. She's very handy with a ________________.
  11. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  12. David sat on the ________________.
  13. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  14. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  15. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  16. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  17. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  18. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  19. Don't do anything ________________.
  20. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  21. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  22. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  23. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  24. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.

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

Answer key

  1. current — electric
  2. saw — the tool
  3. present — a gift
  4. rash — on the skin
  5. cold — not warm
  6. face — to point toward
  7. present — there
  8. current — happening now
  9. court — for sport
  10. saw — the tool
  11. court — of a king
  12. swing — to play on
  13. cold — an illness
  14. court — of law
  15. current — of water
  16. saw — past of 'see'
  17. swing — in golf
  18. swing — music
  19. rash — hasty
  20. face — part of the head
  21. present — the time now
  22. rash — a series
  23. face — to confront
  24. cold — the Cold War

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