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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. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  2. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  3. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  4. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  5. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  6. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  7. My mare is ________________ in color.
  8. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  9. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  10. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  11. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  12. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  13. The water is too ________________.
  14. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  15. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  16. False peace will not ________________.
  17. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  18. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  19. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  20. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  21. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  22. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  23. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  24. At ________________, we arrived at the village.

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

Answer key

  1. current — electric
  2. bass — the instrument
  3. content — happy
  4. bass — low music
  5. cold — an illness
  6. current — happening now
  7. bay — a horse colour
  8. dip — a sauce
  9. last — final
  10. bay — to keep at bay
  11. bay — a part of the sea
  12. shower — a meteor shower
  13. cold — not warm
  14. content — videos and posts
  15. dip — to dunk
  16. last — to go on
  17. current — of water
  18. bass — the fish
  19. content — the amount
  20. shower — to wash
  21. shower — rain
  22. dip — to sink
  23. cold — the Cold War
  24. last — finally

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