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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. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  2. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  3. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  4. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  5. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  6. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  7. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  8. The water is too ________________.
  9. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  10. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  11. When are we going to ________________?
  12. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  13. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  14. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  15. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  16. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  17. You don't need to ________________ round.
  18. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  19. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  20. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  21. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  22. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  23. We're almost out of ________________.
  24. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — an illness
  2. wake — a trail
  3. cold — the Cold War
  4. wake — before a funeral
  5. current — of water
  6. toast — a drink to someone
  7. straw — a straw man
  8. cold — not warm
  9. land — a country
  10. current — happening now
  11. land — to come down
  12. straw — dry grass
  13. pop — music
  14. current — electric
  15. straw — to clutch at straws
  16. toast — the most admired
  17. pop — to visit
  18. bat — in an idiom
  19. wake — to stop sleeping
  20. toast — bread
  21. bat — for baseball
  22. bat — the animal
  23. pop — soda
  24. land — ground

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