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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. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  3. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  4. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  5. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  6. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  7. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  8. Have you met the new head ________________?
  9. The water is too ________________.
  10. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  11. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  12. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  13. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  14. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  15. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  16. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  17. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  18. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  19. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  20. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  21. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  22. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  23. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  24. My mare is ________________ in color.

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

Answer key

  1. current — electric
  2. fork — a garden tool
  3. wake — before a funeral
  4. cold — an illness
  5. bay — to keep at bay
  6. wake — to stop sleeping
  7. object — an aim
  8. coach — a trainer
  9. cold — not warm
  10. fork — to eat with
  11. object — a thing
  12. coach — pulled by horses
  13. current — happening now
  14. object — to protest
  15. wound — an injury
  16. bay — a part of the sea
  17. cold — the Cold War
  18. wound — past of 'wind'
  19. wake — a trail
  20. fork — in a road
  21. coach — a trainer
  22. current — of water
  23. wound — an injury
  24. bay — a horse colour

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