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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. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  3. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  4. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  5. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  6. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  7. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  8. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  9. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  10. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  11. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  12. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  13. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  14. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  15. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  16. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  17. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  18. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  19. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  20. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  21. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  22. The water is too ________________.
  23. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  24. Where did you ________________ them?

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

Answer key

  1. shower — to wash
  2. cold — an illness
  3. mug — a cup
  4. cold — the Cold War
  5. prune — to trim
  6. mug — a face
  7. current — of water
  8. clip — for paper
  9. shower — rain
  10. racket — for tennis
  11. jam — to spread on bread
  12. current — electric
  13. prune — to trim
  14. racket — a loud noise
  15. current — happening now
  16. racket — for tennis
  17. clip — to cut
  18. jam — a tight spot
  19. shower — a meteor shower
  20. clip — a video
  21. prune — the fruit
  22. cold — not warm
  23. jam — in traffic
  24. mug — to rob

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