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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 teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  2. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  3. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  4. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  5. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  6. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  7. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  8. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  9. Don't do anything ________________.
  10. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  11. I can't ________________ this cold.
  12. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  13. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  14. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  15. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  16. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  17. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  18. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  19. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  20. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  21. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  22. We're on a ________________ here.
  23. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  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. roll — a list
  2. march — the month
  3. current — of water
  4. shower — a meteor shower
  5. lash — to lash out
  6. rash — on the skin
  7. lash — a whip stroke
  8. shower — rain
  9. rash — hasty
  10. march — the month
  11. stand — to bear
  12. lash — an eyelash
  13. shower — to wash
  14. march — music
  15. current — happening now
  16. stand — on your feet
  17. chest — a box
  18. chest — of your body
  19. rash — a series
  20. chest — of your body
  21. roll — a cake
  22. roll — on a roll
  23. current — electric
  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