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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. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  2. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  3. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  4. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  5. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  6. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  7. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  8. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  9. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  10. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  11. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  12. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  13. You don't need to ________________ round.
  14. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  15. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  16. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  17. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  18. When are we going to ________________?
  19. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  20. We're almost out of ________________.
  21. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  22. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  23. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  24. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. file — a document
  2. pop — music
  3. chest — of your body
  4. file — a line of people
  5. wake — before a funeral
  6. cap — a lid
  7. wake — to stop sleeping
  8. current — of water
  9. land — a country
  10. present — the time now
  11. current — electric
  12. cap — of ice
  13. pop — to visit
  14. chest — a box
  15. wake — a trail
  16. cap — a hat
  17. present — there
  18. land — to come down
  19. current — happening now
  20. pop — soda
  21. land — ground
  22. present — a gift
  23. chest — of your body
  24. file — a tool

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