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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 116 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 hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  2. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  3. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  4. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  5. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  6. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  7. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  8. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  9. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  10. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  11. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  12. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  13. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  14. When are we going to ________________?
  15. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  16. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  17. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  18. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  19. The water is too ________________.
  20. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  21. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  22. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  23. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  24. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?

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

Answer key

  1. hand — part of the body
  2. rock — to move gently
  3. land — ground
  4. dip — a sauce
  5. dip — to dunk
  6. hand — help
  7. bass — the fish
  8. cold — the Cold War
  9. present — there
  10. rock — a stone
  11. cold — an illness
  12. current — happening now
  13. present — the time now
  14. land — to come down
  15. bass — low music
  16. hand — in cards
  17. current — of water
  18. present — a gift
  19. cold — not warm
  20. current — electric
  21. dip — to sink
  22. land — a country
  23. bass — the instrument
  24. rock — music

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