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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. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  2. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  3. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  4. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  5. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  6. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  7. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  8. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  9. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  10. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  11. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  12. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  13. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  14. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  15. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  16. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  17. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  18. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  19. The King held a masked ________________.
  20. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  21. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  22. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  23. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  24. This looks like a gunshot ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bass — the fish
  2. current — electric
  3. wound — past of 'wind'
  4. bass — low music
  5. face — part of the head
  6. ball — a round shape
  7. shower — a meteor shower
  8. file — a line of people
  9. wind — to turn a key
  10. face — to confront
  11. face — to point toward
  12. bass — the instrument
  13. ball — a great time
  14. shower — to wash
  15. current — happening now
  16. wind — moving air
  17. shower — rain
  18. current — of water
  19. ball — a dance
  20. wound — an injury
  21. file — a document
  22. wind — moving air
  23. file — a tool
  24. wound — an injury

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