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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 124 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. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  2. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  3. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  4. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  5. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  6. The ________________ took off on time.
  7. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  8. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  9. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  10. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  11. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  12. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  13. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  14. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  15. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  16. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  17. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  18. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  19. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  20. The water is too ________________.
  21. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  22. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  23. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  24. David sat on the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. current — electric
  2. band — a music group
  3. cap — of ice
  4. swing — in golf
  5. racket — a loud noise
  6. plane — an aircraft
  7. fan — to cool the air
  8. plane — in geometry
  9. current — of water
  10. cap — a hat
  11. cold — the Cold War
  12. current — happening now
  13. plane — a tool
  14. racket — for tennis
  15. band — a rubber band
  16. fan — a supporter
  17. racket — for tennis
  18. band — a ring
  19. cold — an illness
  20. cold — not warm
  21. cap — a lid
  22. swing — music
  23. fan — a supporter
  24. swing — to play on

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