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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. Don't do anything ________________.
  3. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  4. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  5. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  6. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  7. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  8. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  9. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  10. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  11. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  12. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  13. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  14. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  15. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  16. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  17. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  18. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  19. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  20. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  21. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  22. He was locked up in a ________________.
  23. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  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. current — of water
  2. rash — hasty
  3. current — happening now
  4. cap — a lid
  5. kick — in football
  6. current — electric
  7. cap — of ice
  8. snap — to speak sharply
  9. squash — the vegetable
  10. cell — a phone
  11. squash — to crush
  12. cell — in biology
  13. rash — on the skin
  14. rash — a series
  15. hide — animal skin
  16. snap — to snap out of it
  17. hide — to keep secret
  18. kick — a thrill
  19. hide — to keep secret
  20. squash — the sport
  21. cap — a hat
  22. cell — in a prison
  23. snap — to click
  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