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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. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  2. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  3. That was a fun ________________.
  4. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  5. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  6. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  7. The water is too ________________.
  8. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  9. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  10. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  11. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  12. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  13. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  14. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  15. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  16. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  17. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  18. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  19. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  20. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  21. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  22. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  23. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  24. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. game — wild animals
  2. cold — an illness
  3. game — a match
  4. rest — what's left
  5. current — of water
  6. wake — a trail
  7. cold — not warm
  8. game — a kind of play
  9. capital — a city
  10. current — electric
  11. wake — to stop sleeping
  12. bore — gave birth
  13. bore — to drill
  14. wake — before a funeral
  15. bark — of a tree
  16. capital — a big letter
  17. bore — to tire
  18. rest — a break
  19. current — happening now
  20. rest — what's left
  21. bark — to shout
  22. bark — a dog's sound
  23. cold — the Cold War
  24. capital — money

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