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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. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  2. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  3. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  4. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  5. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  6. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  7. He was locked up in a ________________.
  8. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  9. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  10. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  11. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  12. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  13. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  14. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  15. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  16. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  17. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  18. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  19. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  20. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  21. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  22. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  23. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  24. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.

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

Answer key

  1. row — to paddle
  2. shower — a meteor shower
  3. march — the month
  4. shower — rain
  5. lie — an untruth
  6. wind — moving air
  7. cell — in a prison
  8. march — music
  9. row — a quarrel
  10. current — happening now
  11. dip — to dunk
  12. dip — to sink
  13. shower — to wash
  14. march — the month
  15. row — a line
  16. wind — to turn a key
  17. current — electric
  18. cell — in biology
  19. lie — to recline
  20. cell — a phone
  21. current — of water
  22. dip — a sauce
  23. lie — an untruth
  24. wind — moving air

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