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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. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  2. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  3. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  4. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  5. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  6. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  7. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  8. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  9. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  10. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  11. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  12. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  13. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  14. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  15. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  16. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  17. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  18. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  19. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  20. We're on a ________________ here.
  21. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  22. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  23. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  24. The water is too ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. current — electric
  2. pitch — a sports field
  3. row — a line
  4. roll — a list
  5. pitch — a sales talk
  6. fall — to drop
  7. row — to paddle
  8. current — of water
  9. branch — of a tree
  10. present — a gift
  11. pitch — completely
  12. present — there
  13. branch — a division
  14. branch — of a bank
  15. current — happening now
  16. cold — the Cold War
  17. row — a quarrel
  18. present — the time now
  19. fall — to drop
  20. roll — on a roll
  21. cold — an illness
  22. fall — the season
  23. roll — a cake
  24. cold — not warm

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