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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 120 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. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  2. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  3. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  4. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  5. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  6. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  7. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  8. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  9. The light ________________ burned out.
  10. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  11. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  12. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  13. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  14. I've got to change the light ________________.
  15. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  16. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  17. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  18. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  19. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  20. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  21. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  22. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  23. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  24. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — to tease
  2. lie — an untruth
  3. drill — army training
  4. wave — with your hand
  5. lie — to recline
  6. file — a line of people
  7. file — a document
  8. kid — child
  9. bulb — for light
  10. wind — moving air
  11. bulb — of a plant
  12. lie — an untruth
  13. wave — a sudden rise
  14. bulb — for light
  15. wave — of the sea
  16. current — electric
  17. wind — moving air
  18. wind — to turn a key
  19. file — a tool
  20. current — happening now
  21. drill — a practice
  22. drill — the tool
  23. current — of water
  24. kid — young goat (kid gloves)

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