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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's taking a ________________ right now.
  2. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  3. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  4. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  5. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  6. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  7. False peace will not ________________.
  8. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  9. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  10. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  11. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  12. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  13. That was ________________ to happen.
  14. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  15. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  16. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  17. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  18. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  19. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  20. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  21. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  22. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  23. Have you met the new head ________________?
  24. Let us try to swim against the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — to wash
  2. deal — an agreement
  3. current — happening now
  4. last — final
  5. current — electric
  6. bat — for baseball
  7. last — to go on
  8. coach — a trainer
  9. bound — obliged
  10. leaves — of a tree
  11. last — finally
  12. deal — to handle
  13. bound — certain
  14. bat — in an idiom
  15. leaves — to go away
  16. leaves — lets stay
  17. shower — rain
  18. coach — pulled by horses
  19. shower — a meteor shower
  20. deal — a big deal
  21. bound — tied together
  22. bat — the animal
  23. coach — a trainer
  24. current — of water

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