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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 hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  2. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  3. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  4. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  5. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  6. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  7. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  8. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  9. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  10. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  11. The water is too ________________.
  12. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  13. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  14. I've got to change the light ________________.
  15. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  16. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  17. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  18. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  19. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  20. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  21. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  22. The light ________________ burned out.
  23. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  24. This looks like a gunshot ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — part of the body
  2. hand — in cards
  3. mine — for digging
  4. mine — an explosive
  5. wound — an injury
  6. wound — past of 'wind'
  7. deal — a big deal
  8. current — happening now
  9. pitch — completely
  10. current — electric
  11. cold — not warm
  12. pitch — a sports field
  13. bulb — of a plant
  14. bulb — for light
  15. mine — belonging to me
  16. hand — help
  17. pitch — a sales talk
  18. deal — an agreement
  19. cold — the Cold War
  20. deal — to handle
  21. cold — an illness
  22. bulb — for light
  23. current — of water
  24. wound — an injury

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