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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. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  2. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  3. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  4. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  5. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  6. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  7. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  8. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  9. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  10. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  11. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  12. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  13. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  14. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  15. The water is too ________________.
  16. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  17. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  18. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  19. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  20. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  21. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  22. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  23. Have you found your soul ________________?
  24. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. dip — a sauce
  2. current — of water
  3. mate — a friend
  4. bank — for money
  5. lean — to rest against
  6. cold — the Cold War
  7. current — electric
  8. bark — to shout
  9. bark — a dog's sound
  10. dip — to sink
  11. mate — to breed
  12. file — a line of people
  13. bark — of a tree
  14. lean — thin
  15. cold — not warm
  16. bank — of a river
  17. dip — to dunk
  18. current — happening now
  19. lean — to bend
  20. bank — for money
  21. file — a document
  22. cold — an illness
  23. mate — a partner
  24. file — a tool

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