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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. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  2. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  3. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  4. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  5. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  6. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  7. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  8. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  9. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  10. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  11. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  12. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  13. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  14. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  15. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  16. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  17. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  18. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  19. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  20. That must've been a ________________.
  21. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  22. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  23. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  24. Do you need a ________________ with that?

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

Answer key

  1. current — of water
  2. wound — an injury
  3. rush — to hurry
  4. bat — the animal
  5. scale — size or range
  6. fan — a supporter
  7. fan — a supporter
  8. hand — in cards
  9. wound — an injury
  10. fan — to cool the air
  11. toast — the most admired
  12. rush — hurry
  13. bat — in an idiom
  14. hand — part of the body
  15. scale — for weighing
  16. wound — past of 'wind'
  17. current — happening now
  18. current — electric
  19. scale — in music
  20. rush — a thrill
  21. bat — for baseball
  22. toast — bread
  23. toast — a drink to someone
  24. hand — help

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