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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. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  2. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  3. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  4. Don't do anything ________________.
  5. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  6. The water is too ________________.
  7. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  8. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  9. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  10. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  11. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  12. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  13. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  14. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  15. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  16. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  17. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  18. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  19. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  20. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  21. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  22. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  23. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  24. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. present — a gift
  2. current — of water
  3. current — electric
  4. rash — hasty
  5. cold — the Cold War
  6. cold — not warm
  7. rash — a series
  8. cue — a hint
  9. cold — an illness
  10. present — there
  11. racket — for tennis
  12. racket — for tennis
  13. march — music
  14. drill — the tool
  15. rash — on the skin
  16. present — the time now
  17. march — the month
  18. cue — for pool
  19. drill — army training
  20. cue — a signal
  21. current — happening now
  22. racket — a loud noise
  23. drill — a practice
  24. march — the month

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