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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. The water is too ________________.
  2. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  3. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  4. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  5. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  6. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  7. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  8. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  9. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  10. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  11. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  12. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  13. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  14. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  15. This piece is in a major ________________.
  16. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  17. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  18. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  19. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  20. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  21. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  22. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  23. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  24. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — not warm
  2. current — happening now
  3. scale — in music
  4. wake — before a funeral
  5. key — for a lock
  6. current — of water
  7. prune — the fruit
  8. current — electric
  9. craft — boats
  10. craft — a skill
  11. rule — a law
  12. craft — a handicraft
  13. prune — to trim
  14. cold — the Cold War
  15. key — in music
  16. scale — size or range
  17. wake — a trail
  18. key — the most important part
  19. wake — to stop sleeping
  20. rule — government
  21. cold — an illness
  22. prune — to trim
  23. rule — to rule out
  24. scale — for weighing

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