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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. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  2. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  3. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  4. He works in a ________________ mill.
  5. Don't do anything ________________.
  6. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  7. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  8. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  9. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  10. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  11. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  12. The water is too ________________.
  13. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  14. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  15. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  16. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  17. She's very handy with a ________________.
  18. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  19. David sat on the ________________.
  20. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  21. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  22. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  23. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  24. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. current — electric
  2. current — happening now
  3. hand — help
  4. saw — the tool
  5. rash — hasty
  6. lash — an eyelash
  7. rash — on the skin
  8. current — of water
  9. cold — an illness
  10. club — a group
  11. hand — in cards
  12. cold — not warm
  13. swing — music
  14. lash — a whip stroke
  15. club — for dancing
  16. cold — the Cold War
  17. saw — the tool
  18. lash — to lash out
  19. swing — to play on
  20. saw — past of 'see'
  21. swing — in golf
  22. hand — part of the body
  23. rash — a series
  24. club — for golf

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