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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. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  2. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  3. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  4. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  5. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  6. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  7. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  8. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  9. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  10. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  11. The water is too ________________.
  12. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  13. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  14. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  15. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  16. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  17. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  18. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  19. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  20. I'll be taking the ________________.
  21. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  22. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  23. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  24. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.

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

Answer key

  1. current — electric
  2. jam — a tight spot
  3. bank — for money
  4. current — of water
  5. cold — an illness
  6. rest — a break
  7. row — a quarrel
  8. cold — the Cold War
  9. rest — what's left
  10. current — happening now
  11. cold — not warm
  12. rest — what's left
  13. jam — in traffic
  14. bank — for money
  15. tube — a container
  16. jam — to spread on bread
  17. row — a line
  18. wound — an injury
  19. bank — of a river
  20. tube — the underground
  21. wound — an injury
  22. row — to paddle
  23. wound — past of 'wind'
  24. tube — in a tire

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