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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. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  3. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  4. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  5. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  6. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  7. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  8. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  9. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  10. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  11. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  12. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  13. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  14. False peace will not ________________.
  15. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  16. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  17. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  18. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  19. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  20. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  21. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  22. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  23. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  24. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.

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

Answer key

  1. current — of water
  2. fall — to drop
  3. staff — a stick
  4. branch — a division
  5. last — finally
  6. wind — moving air
  7. current — happening now
  8. kid — to tease
  9. current — electric
  10. branch — of a tree
  11. kid — child
  12. last — final
  13. wind — moving air
  14. last — to go on
  15. staff — employees
  16. staff — employees
  17. fall — the season
  18. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  19. bank — of a river
  20. bank — for money
  21. bank — for money
  22. wind — to turn a key
  23. branch — of a bank
  24. fall — to drop

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