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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 120 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. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  2. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  3. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  4. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  5. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  6. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  7. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  8. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  9. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  10. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  11. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  12. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  13. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  14. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  15. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  16. The water is too ________________.
  17. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  18. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  19. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  20. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  21. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  22. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  23. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  24. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. current — of water
  2. lean — to bend
  3. fall — to drop
  4. current — electric
  5. pound — a weight
  6. lean — to rest against
  7. squash — the sport
  8. bass — the instrument
  9. lean — thin
  10. squash — to crush
  11. cap — a lid
  12. cap — a hat
  13. current — happening now
  14. pound — for dogs
  15. pound — to hit hard
  16. cold — not warm
  17. bass — low music
  18. cap — of ice
  19. fall — to drop
  20. cold — the Cold War
  21. cold — an illness
  22. fall — the season
  23. squash — the vegetable
  24. bass — the fish

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