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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. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  2. I'll be taking the ________________.
  3. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  4. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  5. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  6. Where did you ________________ them?
  7. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  8. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  9. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  10. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  11. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  12. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  13. The water is too ________________.
  14. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  15. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  16. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  17. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  18. How do you ________________ your surname?
  19. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  20. My father caught me by the ________________.
  21. Don't do anything ________________.
  22. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  23. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  24. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rash — on the skin
  2. tube — the underground
  3. cold — an illness
  4. spell — a short time
  5. mug — a cup
  6. mug — to rob
  7. mug — a face
  8. current — of water
  9. tube — a container
  10. cold — the Cold War
  11. arm — part of the body
  12. band — a rubber band
  13. cold — not warm
  14. tube — in a tire
  15. current — happening now
  16. current — electric
  17. spell — magic
  18. spell — letters
  19. band — a ring
  20. arm — part of the body
  21. rash — hasty
  22. arm — a part of something
  23. rash — a series
  24. band — a music group

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