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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 took cover from the thunder ________________.
  2. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  3. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  4. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  5. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  6. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  7. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  8. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  9. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  10. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  11. The water is too ________________.
  12. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  13. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  14. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  15. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  16. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  17. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  18. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  19. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  20. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  21. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  22. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  23. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  24. That was ________________ to happen.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — rain
  2. row — to paddle
  3. shower — to wash
  4. shower — a meteor shower
  5. staff — employees
  6. content — happy
  7. lean — thin
  8. staff — employees
  9. staff — a stick
  10. cold — the Cold War
  11. cold — not warm
  12. current — of water
  13. current — happening now
  14. content — videos and posts
  15. bound — obliged
  16. content — the amount
  17. bound — tied together
  18. cold — an illness
  19. row — a line
  20. row — a quarrel
  21. lean — to bend
  22. lean — to rest against
  23. current — electric
  24. bound — certain

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