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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. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  3. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  4. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  5. Don't do anything ________________.
  6. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  7. We're almost out of ________________.
  8. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  9. You don't need to ________________ round.
  10. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  11. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  12. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  13. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  14. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  15. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  16. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  17. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  18. The ball is in your ________________.
  19. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  20. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  21. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  22. The water is too ________________.
  23. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  24. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.

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

Answer key

  1. current — of water
  2. wake — a trail
  3. bat — in an idiom
  4. bat — for baseball
  5. rash — hasty
  6. wake — before a funeral
  7. pop — soda
  8. cold — an illness
  9. pop — to visit
  10. wake — to stop sleeping
  11. court — of a king
  12. cold — the Cold War
  13. pitch — a sales talk
  14. pop — music
  15. pitch — a sports field
  16. current — happening now
  17. current — electric
  18. court — for sport
  19. court — of law
  20. rash — a series
  21. bat — the animal
  22. cold — not warm
  23. rash — on the skin
  24. pitch — completely

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