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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. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  2. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  3. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  4. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  5. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  6. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  7. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  8. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  9. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  10. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  11. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  12. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  13. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  14. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  15. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  16. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  17. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  18. The water is too ________________.
  19. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  20. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  21. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  22. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  23. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  24. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.

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

Answer key

  1. current — happening now
  2. wind — moving air
  3. club — a group
  4. bass — the fish
  5. staff — a stick
  6. staff — employees
  7. staff — employees
  8. bat — the animal
  9. face — part of the head
  10. face — to confront
  11. current — of water
  12. cold — the Cold War
  13. club — for dancing
  14. face — to point toward
  15. current — electric
  16. wind — moving air
  17. bass — the instrument
  18. cold — not warm
  19. bat — for baseball
  20. bat — in an idiom
  21. club — for golf
  22. cold — an illness
  23. bass — low music
  24. wind — to turn a key

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