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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 116 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. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  2. Don't do anything ________________.
  3. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  4. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  5. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  6. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  7. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  8. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  9. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  10. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  11. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  12. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  13. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  14. False peace will not ________________.
  15. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  16. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  17. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  18. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  19. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  20. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  21. The water is too ________________.
  22. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  23. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  24. The King held a masked ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. lean — to bend
  2. rash — hasty
  3. cold — an illness
  4. current — electric
  5. object — to protest
  6. object — a thing
  7. staff — employees
  8. lean — thin
  9. last — finally
  10. ball — a round shape
  11. rash — on the skin
  12. current — happening now
  13. current — of water
  14. last — to go on
  15. rash — a series
  16. object — an aim
  17. staff — employees
  18. cold — the Cold War
  19. ball — a great time
  20. last — final
  21. cold — not warm
  22. staff — a stick
  23. lean — to rest against
  24. ball — a dance

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