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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 116 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. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  2. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  3. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  4. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  5. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  6. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  7. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  8. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  9. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  10. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  11. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  12. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  13. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  14. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  15. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  16. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  17. It's one o'clock ________________.
  18. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  19. Don't do anything ________________.
  20. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  21. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  22. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  23. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  24. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.

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

Answer key

  1. file — a document
  2. wave — of the sea
  3. file — a tool
  4. current — electric
  5. wind — moving air
  6. rash — on the skin
  7. wave — with your hand
  8. scale — size or range
  9. sharp — with an edge
  10. scale — in music
  11. sharp — clever
  12. mine — belonging to me
  13. wave — a sudden rise
  14. wind — moving air
  15. rash — a series
  16. mine — for digging
  17. sharp — exactly
  18. mine — an explosive
  19. rash — hasty
  20. file — a line of people
  21. wind — to turn a key
  22. scale — for weighing
  23. current — of water
  24. current — happening now

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