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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 116 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. When are we going to ________________?
  2. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  3. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  4. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  5. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  6. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  7. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  8. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  9. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  10. That must've been a ________________.
  11. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  12. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  13. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  14. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  15. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  16. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  17. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  18. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  19. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  20. David sat on the ________________.
  21. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  22. Don't do anything ________________.
  23. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  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. land — to come down
  2. wind — moving air
  3. rash — on the skin
  4. swing — in golf
  5. current — of water
  6. swing — music
  7. lie — an untruth
  8. band — a rubber band
  9. rush — hurry
  10. rush — a thrill
  11. current — electric
  12. band — a ring
  13. rush — to hurry
  14. lie — to recline
  15. wind — moving air
  16. lie — an untruth
  17. land — ground
  18. band — a music group
  19. wind — to turn a key
  20. swing — to play on
  21. land — a country
  22. rash — hasty
  23. rash — a series
  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