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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 120 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 ________________ went through the wall.
  2. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  3. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  4. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  5. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  6. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  7. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  8. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  9. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  10. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  11. We're almost out of ________________.
  12. I'll be taking the ________________.
  13. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  14. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  15. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  16. The water is too ________________.
  17. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  18. You don't need to ________________ round.
  19. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  20. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  21. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  22. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  23. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  24. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.

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

Answer key

  1. nail — for a hammer
  2. march — the month
  3. current — happening now
  4. current — of water
  5. nail — for a hammer
  6. safe — out of danger
  7. current — electric
  8. cap — a hat
  9. nail — on a finger
  10. cap — of ice
  11. pop — soda
  12. tube — the underground
  13. cap — a lid
  14. safe — a strongbox
  15. march — music
  16. cold — not warm
  17. cold — the Cold War
  18. pop — to visit
  19. tube — in a tire
  20. cold — an illness
  21. safe — out of danger
  22. march — the month
  23. tube — a container
  24. pop — music

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