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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. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  2. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  3. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  4. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  5. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  6. The water is too ________________.
  7. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  8. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  9. The ________________ took off on time.
  10. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  11. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  12. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  13. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  14. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  15. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  16. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  17. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  18. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  19. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  20. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  21. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  22. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  23. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  24. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — a football final
  2. current — electric
  3. present — there
  4. present — the time now
  5. current — of water
  6. cold — not warm
  7. bowl — to roll
  8. cold — an illness
  9. plane — an aircraft
  10. perch — for a bird
  11. object — a thing
  12. object — to protest
  13. plane — a tool
  14. current — happening now
  15. tear — from crying
  16. perch — the fish
  17. tear — from crying
  18. tear — to rip
  19. bowl — a dish
  20. cold — the Cold War
  21. object — an aim
  22. present — a gift
  23. plane — in geometry
  24. perch — for a bird

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