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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. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  2. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  3. It's one o'clock ________________.
  4. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  5. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  6. The water is too ________________.
  7. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  8. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  9. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  10. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  11. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  12. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  13. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  14. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  15. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  16. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  17. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  18. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  19. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  20. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  21. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  22. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  23. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  24. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.

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

Answer key

  1. current — happening now
  2. can — a tin
  3. sharp — exactly
  4. sharp — clever
  5. object — an aim
  6. cold — not warm
  7. row — a line
  8. object — to protest
  9. cold — the Cold War
  10. can — a tin
  11. current — electric
  12. sharp — with an edge
  13. row — to paddle
  14. row — a quarrel
  15. hand — part of the body
  16. chest — of your body
  17. cold — an illness
  18. hand — in cards
  19. current — of water
  20. can — to be able to
  21. object — a thing
  22. chest — of your body
  23. hand — help
  24. chest — a box

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