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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. Don't do anything ________________.
  2. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  3. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  4. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  5. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  6. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  7. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  8. Did you ________________ the button?
  9. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  10. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  11. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  12. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  13. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  14. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  15. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  16. Have you met the new head ________________?
  17. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  18. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  19. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  20. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  21. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  22. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  23. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  24. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?

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

Answer key

  1. rash — hasty
  2. wake — to stop sleeping
  3. wake — a trail
  4. cap — a lid
  5. spring — of water
  6. current — electric
  7. cap — of ice
  8. press — to push
  9. chest — of your body
  10. rash — on the skin
  11. current — happening now
  12. chest — a box
  13. coach — a trainer
  14. current — of water
  15. cap — a hat
  16. coach — a trainer
  17. spring — the season
  18. press — a publisher
  19. press — newspapers
  20. rash — a series
  21. spring — a coil
  22. chest — of your body
  23. wake — before a funeral
  24. coach — pulled by horses

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