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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. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  2. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  3. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  4. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  5. That was a fun ________________.
  6. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  7. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  8. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  9. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  10. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  11. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  12. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  13. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  14. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  15. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  16. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  17. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  18. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  19. This piece is in a major ________________.
  20. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  21. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  22. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  23. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  24. The polar ice ________________ is melting.

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

Answer key

  1. stick — a piece of wood
  2. snap — to click
  3. march — music
  4. key — for a lock
  5. game — a match
  6. march — the month
  7. march — the month
  8. cap — a lid
  9. current — electric
  10. snap — to speak sharply
  11. key — the most important part
  12. stick — to attach or keep to
  13. game — a kind of play
  14. current — of water
  15. snap — to snap out of it
  16. stick — a piece of wood
  17. fan — a supporter
  18. game — wild animals
  19. key — in music
  20. current — happening now
  21. fan — a supporter
  22. fan — to cool the air
  23. cap — a hat
  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