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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. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  2. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  3. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  4. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  5. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  6. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  7. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  8. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  9. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  10. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  11. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  12. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  13. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  14. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  15. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  16. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  17. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  18. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  19. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  20. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  21. I'll be taking the ________________.
  22. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  23. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  24. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.

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

Answer key

  1. track — a song
  2. wind — moving air
  3. drill — a practice
  4. current — electric
  5. shower — to wash
  6. wind — moving air
  7. fall — the season
  8. track — a path
  9. stem — to come from
  10. shower — rain
  11. tube — in a tire
  12. wind — to turn a key
  13. drill — the tool
  14. drill — army training
  15. track — to keep track
  16. current — happening now
  17. stem — a stem cell
  18. fall — to drop
  19. shower — a meteor shower
  20. stem — of a plant
  21. tube — the underground
  22. current — of water
  23. fall — to drop
  24. tube — a container

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