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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. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  2. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  3. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  4. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  5. When are we going to ________________?
  6. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  7. What do you think of the new ________________?
  8. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  9. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  10. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  11. False peace will not ________________.
  12. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  13. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  14. How do you ________________ your surname?
  15. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  16. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  17. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  18. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  19. He is an ace ________________.
  20. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  21. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  22. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  23. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  24. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.

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

Answer key

  1. spell — magic
  2. current — electric
  3. current — happening now
  4. wind — moving air
  5. land — to come down
  6. spell — a short time
  7. cabinet — ministers
  8. wind — moving air
  9. cabinet — ministers
  10. pitcher — a jug
  11. last — to go on
  12. chest — of your body
  13. chest — of your body
  14. spell — letters
  15. land — ground
  16. cabinet — a cupboard
  17. pitcher — a jug
  18. chest — a box
  19. pitcher — in baseball
  20. last — finally
  21. land — a country
  22. current — of water
  23. last — final
  24. wind — to turn a key

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