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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. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  2. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  3. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  4. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  5. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  6. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  7. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  8. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  9. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  10. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  11. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  12. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  13. You don't need to ________________ round.
  14. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  15. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  16. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  17. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  18. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  19. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  20. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  21. We're almost out of ________________.
  22. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  23. That must've been a ________________.
  24. The water is too ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rush — hurry
  2. current — of water
  3. current — happening now
  4. bore — to tire
  5. bat — for baseball
  6. file — a document
  7. lash — to lash out
  8. bore — to drill
  9. current — electric
  10. cold — an illness
  11. lash — an eyelash
  12. bore — gave birth
  13. pop — to visit
  14. pop — music
  15. file — a line of people
  16. bat — the animal
  17. file — a tool
  18. cold — the Cold War
  19. rush — to hurry
  20. bat — in an idiom
  21. pop — soda
  22. lash — a whip stroke
  23. rush — a thrill
  24. cold — not warm

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