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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 ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  2. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  3. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  4. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  5. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  6. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  7. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  8. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  9. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  10. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  11. That was a fun ________________.
  12. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  13. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  14. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  15. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  16. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  17. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  18. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  19. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  20. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  21. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  22. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  23. It's one o'clock ________________.
  24. He's quite ________________, isn't he?

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

Answer key

  1. dip — a sauce
  2. current — electric
  3. chest — of your body
  4. current — of water
  5. lean — to bend
  6. dip — to sink
  7. pit — a fruit stone
  8. shower — a meteor shower
  9. game — wild animals
  10. dip — to dunk
  11. game — a match
  12. sharp — with an edge
  13. chest — a box
  14. shower — to wash
  15. chest — of your body
  16. lean — thin
  17. lean — to rest against
  18. shower — rain
  19. pit — in a race
  20. game — a kind of play
  21. pit — a hole
  22. current — happening now
  23. sharp — exactly
  24. sharp — clever

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