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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. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  2. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  3. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  4. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  5. We're almost out of ________________.
  6. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  7. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  8. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  9. You don't need to ________________ round.
  10. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  11. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  12. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  13. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  14. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  15. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  16. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  17. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  18. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  19. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  20. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  21. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  22. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  23. The water is too ________________.
  24. The ________________ took off on time.

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

Answer key

  1. racket — for tennis
  2. bore — gave birth
  3. toast — a drink to someone
  4. current — of water
  5. pop — soda
  6. current — electric
  7. file — a tool
  8. toast — the most admired
  9. pop — to visit
  10. current — happening now
  11. cold — the Cold War
  12. bore — to drill
  13. cold — an illness
  14. pop — music
  15. file — a document
  16. plane — a tool
  17. file — a line of people
  18. racket — a loud noise
  19. bore — to tire
  20. plane — in geometry
  21. toast — bread
  22. racket — for tennis
  23. cold — not warm
  24. plane — an aircraft

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