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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. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  2. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  3. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  4. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  5. The water is too ________________.
  6. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  7. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  8. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  9. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  10. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  11. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  12. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  13. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  14. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  15. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  16. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  17. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  18. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  19. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  20. It's one o'clock ________________.
  21. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  22. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  23. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  24. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.

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

Answer key

  1. current — electric
  2. cold — an illness
  3. sharp — clever
  4. club — for dancing
  5. cold — not warm
  6. lie — an untruth
  7. content — the amount
  8. current — happening now
  9. dip — to sink
  10. club — a group
  11. lie — to recline
  12. lean — thin
  13. lie — an untruth
  14. sharp — with an edge
  15. lean — to bend
  16. dip — to dunk
  17. club — for golf
  18. content — happy
  19. lean — to rest against
  20. sharp — exactly
  21. dip — a sauce
  22. content — videos and posts
  23. current — of water
  24. cold — the Cold War

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