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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. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  2. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  3. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  4. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  5. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  6. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  7. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  8. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  9. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  10. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  11. The ________________ took off on time.
  12. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  13. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  14. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  15. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  16. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  17. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  18. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  19. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  20. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  21. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  22. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  23. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  24. He was locked up in a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. current — of water
  2. foot — a measure
  3. fan — a supporter
  4. march — the month
  5. fork — a garden tool
  6. current — happening now
  7. plane — in geometry
  8. lie — an untruth
  9. lie — to recline
  10. foot — the bottom
  11. plane — an aircraft
  12. fan — to cool the air
  13. fan — a supporter
  14. current — electric
  15. foot — part of the body
  16. plane — a tool
  17. cell — a phone
  18. march — the month
  19. fork — in a road
  20. lie — an untruth
  21. cell — in biology
  22. fork — to eat with
  23. march — music
  24. cell — in a prison

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