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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. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  2. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  3. What do you think of the new ________________?
  4. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  5. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  6. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  7. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  8. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  9. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  10. This piece is in a major ________________.
  11. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  12. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  13. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  14. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  15. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  16. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  17. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  18. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  19. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  20. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  21. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  22. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  23. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  24. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.

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

Answer key

  1. wake — to stop sleeping
  2. cabinet — ministers
  3. cabinet — ministers
  4. wound — an injury
  5. field — a subject
  6. dip — to dunk
  7. key — the most important part
  8. wound — past of 'wind'
  9. wound — an injury
  10. key — in music
  11. current — of water
  12. band — a music group
  13. band — a rubber band
  14. band — a ring
  15. current — happening now
  16. cabinet — a cupboard
  17. field — farmland
  18. wake — a trail
  19. key — for a lock
  20. field — for sport
  21. current — electric
  22. dip — a sauce
  23. wake — before a funeral
  24. dip — to sink

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