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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. Don't do anything ________________.
  2. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  3. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  4. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  5. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  6. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  7. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  8. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  9. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  10. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  11. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  12. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  13. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  14. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  15. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  16. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  17. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  18. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  19. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  20. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  21. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  22. He is an ace ________________.
  23. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  24. The ________________ went through the wall.

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

Answer key

  1. rash — hasty
  2. current — electric
  3. present — the time now
  4. rest — a break
  5. band — a music group
  6. pitcher — a jug
  7. rest — what's left
  8. rest — what's left
  9. rash — a series
  10. rash — on the skin
  11. kid — to tease
  12. present — a gift
  13. band — a ring
  14. nail — on a finger
  15. nail — for a hammer
  16. current — happening now
  17. current — of water
  18. present — there
  19. kid — child
  20. pitcher — a jug
  21. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  22. pitcher — in baseball
  23. band — a rubber band
  24. nail — for a hammer

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