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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 120 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. The water is too ________________.
  2. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  3. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  4. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  5. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  6. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  7. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  8. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  9. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  10. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  11. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  12. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  13. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  14. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  15. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  16. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  17. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  18. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  19. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  20. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  21. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  22. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  23. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  24. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — not warm
  2. rest — what's left
  3. wake — a trail
  4. current — of water
  5. dip — to dunk
  6. dip — a sauce
  7. file — a document
  8. dip — to sink
  9. vault — an arched ceiling
  10. vault — a safe
  11. lash — a whip stroke
  12. cold — the Cold War
  13. rest — a break
  14. wake — to stop sleeping
  15. file — a tool
  16. lash — an eyelash
  17. current — electric
  18. lash — to lash out
  19. rest — what's left
  20. cold — an illness
  21. wake — before a funeral
  22. vault — in gymnastics
  23. file — a line of people
  24. current — happening now

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