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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 water is too ________________.
  2. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  3. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  4. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  5. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  6. We're almost out of ________________.
  7. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  8. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  9. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  10. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  11. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  12. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  13. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  14. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  15. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  16. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  17. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  18. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  19. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  20. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  21. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  22. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  23. You don't need to ________________ round.
  24. Let us try to swim against the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — not warm
  2. current — electric
  3. cold — an illness
  4. hide — to keep secret
  5. bass — low music
  6. pop — soda
  7. object — a thing
  8. pop — music
  9. race — the arms race
  10. object — an aim
  11. bass — the instrument
  12. bass — the fish
  13. race — a contest
  14. race — humankind
  15. hide — animal skin
  16. stick — a piece of wood
  17. hide — to keep secret
  18. cold — the Cold War
  19. current — happening now
  20. stick — a piece of wood
  21. object — to protest
  22. stick — to attach or keep to
  23. pop — to visit
  24. current — of water

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