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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 light ________________ burned out.
  2. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  3. How do you ________________ your surname?
  4. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  5. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  6. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  7. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  8. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  9. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  10. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  11. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  12. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  13. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  14. The water is too ________________.
  15. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  16. I've got to change the light ________________.
  17. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  18. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  19. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  20. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  21. Where did you ________________ them?
  22. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  23. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  24. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.

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

Answer key

  1. bulb — for light
  2. mug — a cup
  3. spell — letters
  4. current — happening now
  5. wound — past of 'wind'
  6. wound — an injury
  7. spell — a short time
  8. snap — to speak sharply
  9. track — to keep track
  10. spell — magic
  11. snap — to snap out of it
  12. wound — an injury
  13. mug — a face
  14. cold — not warm
  15. current — electric
  16. bulb — for light
  17. track — a path
  18. bulb — of a plant
  19. cold — an illness
  20. cold — the Cold War
  21. mug — to rob
  22. track — a song
  23. current — of water
  24. snap — to click

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