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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 120 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. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  2. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  3. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  4. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  5. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  6. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  7. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  8. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  9. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  10. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  11. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  12. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  13. I can't ________________ this cold.
  14. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  15. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  16. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  17. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  18. He is an ace ________________.
  19. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  20. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  21. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  22. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  23. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  24. It's one o'clock ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — a jug
  2. mine — an explosive
  3. pitcher — a jug
  4. sharp — with an edge
  5. current — happening now
  6. mine — for digging
  7. march — the month
  8. file — a line of people
  9. wave — with your hand
  10. wave — a sudden rise
  11. mine — belonging to me
  12. current — of water
  13. stand — to bear
  14. sharp — clever
  15. march — the month
  16. current — electric
  17. march — music
  18. pitcher — in baseball
  19. file — a tool
  20. stand — on your feet
  21. wave — of the sea
  22. file — a document
  23. stand — for spectators
  24. sharp — exactly

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