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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. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  2. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  3. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  4. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  5. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  6. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  7. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  8. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  9. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  10. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  11. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  12. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  13. When are we going to ________________?
  14. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  15. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  16. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  17. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  18. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  19. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  20. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  21. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  22. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  23. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  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. shower — to wash
  2. cap — a lid
  3. current — electric
  4. scale — for weighing
  5. row — a line
  6. row — a quarrel
  7. mouse — for a computer
  8. deal — a big deal
  9. current — of water
  10. cap — a hat
  11. land — ground
  12. shower — a meteor shower
  13. land — to come down
  14. mouse — the animal
  15. mouse — the animal
  16. deal — to handle
  17. cap — of ice
  18. row — to paddle
  19. deal — an agreement
  20. land — a country
  21. shower — rain
  22. scale — size or range
  23. scale — in music
  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