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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. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  3. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  4. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  5. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  6. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  7. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  8. Have you found your soul ________________?
  9. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  10. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  11. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  12. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  13. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  14. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  15. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  16. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  17. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  18. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  19. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  20. I've got to change the light ________________.
  21. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  22. The light ________________ burned out.
  23. The King held a masked ________________.
  24. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.

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

Answer key

  1. current — happening now
  2. hand — in cards
  3. snap — to speak sharply
  4. cap — of ice
  5. snap — to click
  6. current — of water
  7. mate — a friend
  8. mate — a partner
  9. ball — a great time
  10. kid — to tease
  11. mate — to breed
  12. snap — to snap out of it
  13. hand — help
  14. kid — child
  15. cap — a hat
  16. current — electric
  17. hand — part of the body
  18. ball — a round shape
  19. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  20. bulb — for light
  21. cap — a lid
  22. bulb — for light
  23. ball — a dance
  24. bulb — of a plant

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