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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. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  2. The water is too ________________.
  3. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  4. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  5. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  6. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  7. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  8. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  9. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  10. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  11. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  12. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  13. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  14. That was ________________ to happen.
  15. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  16. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  17. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  18. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  19. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  20. The King held a masked ________________.
  21. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  22. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  23. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  24. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.

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

Answer key

  1. current — of water
  2. cold — not warm
  3. current — happening now
  4. branch — of a tree
  5. craft — a handicraft
  6. ball — a great time
  7. bound — obliged
  8. craft — boats
  9. drill — a practice
  10. drill — the tool
  11. cold — an illness
  12. current — electric
  13. kid — child
  14. bound — certain
  15. ball — a round shape
  16. kid — to tease
  17. bound — tied together
  18. craft — a skill
  19. cold — the Cold War
  20. ball — a dance
  21. branch — a division
  22. branch — of a bank
  23. drill — army training
  24. kid — young goat (kid gloves)

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