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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. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  2. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  3. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  4. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  5. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  6. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  7. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  8. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  9. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  10. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  11. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  12. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  13. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  14. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  15. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  16. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  17. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  18. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  19. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  20. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  21. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  22. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  23. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  24. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.

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

Answer key

  1. current — of water
  2. cap — of ice
  3. fall — to drop
  4. cap — a hat
  5. wind — moving air
  6. current — electric
  7. wake — before a funeral
  8. bark — a dog's sound
  9. wind — moving air
  10. wake — to stop sleeping
  11. squash — the vegetable
  12. content — the amount
  13. wind — to turn a key
  14. bark — to shout
  15. current — happening now
  16. fall — the season
  17. cap — a lid
  18. content — happy
  19. content — videos and posts
  20. fall — to drop
  21. squash — the sport
  22. wake — a trail
  23. bark — of a tree
  24. squash — to crush

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