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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 120 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. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  2. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  3. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  4. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  5. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  6. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  7. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  8. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  9. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  10. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  11. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  12. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  13. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  14. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  15. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  16. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  17. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  18. How do you ________________ your surname?
  19. The water is too ________________.
  20. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  21. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  22. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  23. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  24. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — moving air
  2. cold — the Cold War
  3. wind — to turn a key
  4. root — of a word
  5. root — of a plant
  6. bat — for baseball
  7. bat — in an idiom
  8. bore — to drill
  9. cold — an illness
  10. current — electric
  11. spell — magic
  12. bat — the animal
  13. current — of water
  14. craft — boats
  15. craft — a handicraft
  16. root — the cause
  17. spell — a short time
  18. spell — letters
  19. cold — not warm
  20. bore — gave birth
  21. craft — a skill
  22. wind — moving air
  23. bore — to tire
  24. current — happening now

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