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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. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  2. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  3. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  4. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  5. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  6. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  7. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  8. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  9. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  10. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  11. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  12. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  13. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  14. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  15. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  16. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  17. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  18. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  19. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  20. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  21. The water is too ________________.
  22. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  23. David sat on the ________________.
  24. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.

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

Answer key

  1. fan — a supporter
  2. current — electric
  3. wake — to stop sleeping
  4. wake — a trail
  5. wake — before a funeral
  6. present — there
  7. swing — music
  8. fan — to cool the air
  9. current — of water
  10. present — a gift
  11. cold — the Cold War
  12. bat — for baseball
  13. fan — a supporter
  14. object — to protest
  15. object — an aim
  16. current — happening now
  17. cold — an illness
  18. bat — in an idiom
  19. present — the time now
  20. swing — in golf
  21. cold — not warm
  22. object — a thing
  23. swing — to play on
  24. bat — the animal

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