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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. I can't ________________ this cold.
  2. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  3. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  4. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  5. The water is too ________________.
  6. We're almost out of ________________.
  7. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  8. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  9. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  10. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  11. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  12. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  13. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  14. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  15. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  16. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  17. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  18. You don't need to ________________ round.
  19. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  20. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  21. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  22. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  23. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  24. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. stand — to bear
  2. fan — to cool the air
  3. wake — before a funeral
  4. chip — in a computer
  5. cold — not warm
  6. pop — soda
  7. file — a document
  8. current — of water
  9. current — happening now
  10. chip — to eat
  11. stand — on your feet
  12. file — a tool
  13. cold — the Cold War
  14. wake — a trail
  15. file — a line of people
  16. cold — an illness
  17. fan — a supporter
  18. pop — to visit
  19. chip — for betting
  20. fan — a supporter
  21. wake — to stop sleeping
  22. current — electric
  23. pop — music
  24. stand — for spectators

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