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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. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  2. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  3. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  4. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  5. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  6. I've got to change the light ________________.
  7. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  8. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  9. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  10. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  11. The light ________________ burned out.
  12. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  13. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  14. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  15. The water is too ________________.
  16. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  17. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  18. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  19. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  20. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  21. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  22. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  23. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  24. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.

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

Answer key

  1. mouse — for a computer
  2. fan — to cool the air
  3. mouse — the animal
  4. cold — the Cold War
  5. cold — an illness
  6. bulb — for light
  7. wake — before a funeral
  8. current — electric
  9. wind — moving air
  10. current — happening now
  11. bulb — for light
  12. wind — to turn a key
  13. current — of water
  14. kid — to tease
  15. cold — not warm
  16. wind — moving air
  17. fan — a supporter
  18. kid — child
  19. wake — to stop sleeping
  20. fan — a supporter
  21. mouse — the animal
  22. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  23. wake — a trail
  24. bulb — of a plant

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