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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. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  2. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  3. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  4. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  5. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  6. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  7. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  8. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  9. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  10. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  11. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  12. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  13. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  14. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  15. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  16. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  17. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  18. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  19. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  20. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  21. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  22. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  23. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  24. The polar ice ________________ is melting.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — past of 'wind'
  2. face — to confront
  3. cap — a hat
  4. current — happening now
  5. fine — high quality
  6. wake — before a funeral
  7. current — of water
  8. fine — a penalty
  9. cap — a lid
  10. shower — to wash
  11. current — electric
  12. shower — a meteor shower
  13. wake — to stop sleeping
  14. wake — a trail
  15. face — to point toward
  16. field — farmland
  17. wound — an injury
  18. fine — all right
  19. field — a subject
  20. field — for sport
  21. wound — an injury
  22. shower — rain
  23. face — part of the head
  24. cap — of ice

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