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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. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  2. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  3. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  4. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  5. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  6. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  7. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  8. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  9. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  10. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  11. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  12. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  13. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  14. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  15. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  16. We're on a ________________ here.
  17. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  18. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  19. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  20. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  21. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  22. Have you met the new head ________________?
  23. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  24. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?

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

Answer key

  1. cap — a lid
  2. mine — belonging to me
  3. roll — a cake
  4. row — to paddle
  5. current — of water
  6. mouse — the animal
  7. current — electric
  8. row — a quarrel
  9. cap — a hat
  10. mouse — the animal
  11. cap — of ice
  12. file — a tool
  13. mine — for digging
  14. mouse — for a computer
  15. mine — an explosive
  16. roll — on a roll
  17. row — a line
  18. file — a document
  19. roll — a list
  20. file — a line of people
  21. coach — a trainer
  22. coach — a trainer
  23. current — happening now
  24. coach — pulled by horses

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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