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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. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  2. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  3. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  4. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  5. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  6. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  7. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  8. The water is too ________________.
  9. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  10. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  11. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  12. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  13. It's one o'clock ________________.
  14. That was ________________ to happen.
  15. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  16. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  17. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  18. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  19. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  20. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  21. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  22. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  23. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  24. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.

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

Answer key

  1. current — happening now
  2. sharp — clever
  3. hide — animal skin
  4. bat — for baseball
  5. sharp — with an edge
  6. band — a rubber band
  7. band — a ring
  8. cold — not warm
  9. hide — to keep secret
  10. object — a thing
  11. current — electric
  12. band — a music group
  13. sharp — exactly
  14. bound — certain
  15. cold — an illness
  16. bound — obliged
  17. object — to protest
  18. bat — in an idiom
  19. cold — the Cold War
  20. bat — the animal
  21. current — of water
  22. hide — to keep secret
  23. object — an aim
  24. bound — tied together

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