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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. What do you think of the new ________________?
  2. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  3. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  4. The ball is in your ________________.
  5. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  6. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  7. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  8. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  9. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  10. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  11. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  12. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  13. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  14. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  15. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  16. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  17. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  18. You don't need to ________________ round.
  19. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  20. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  21. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  22. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  23. We're almost out of ________________.
  24. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.

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

Answer key

  1. cabinet — ministers
  2. wind — moving air
  3. current — of water
  4. court — for sport
  5. wind — to turn a key
  6. band — a ring
  7. current — electric
  8. band — a music group
  9. court — of law
  10. current — happening now
  11. cabinet — ministers
  12. kick — in football
  13. court — of a king
  14. band — a rubber band
  15. dip — to dunk
  16. kick — a thrill
  17. dip — to sink
  18. pop — to visit
  19. pop — music
  20. dip — a sauce
  21. cabinet — a cupboard
  22. wind — moving air
  23. pop — soda
  24. kick — with a leg

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