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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 King held a masked ________________.
  3. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  4. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  5. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  6. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  7. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  8. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  9. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  10. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  11. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  12. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  13. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  14. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  15. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  16. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  17. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  18. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  19. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  20. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  21. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  22. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  23. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  24. Recycle the empty soda ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. current — of water
  2. ball — a dance
  3. ball — a round shape
  4. scale — size or range
  5. scale — in music
  6. march — the month
  7. can — to be able to
  8. file — a line of people
  9. file — a document
  10. march — the month
  11. file — a tool
  12. march — music
  13. bark — to shout
  14. fine — all right
  15. ball — a great time
  16. current — happening now
  17. bark — a dog's sound
  18. fine — a penalty
  19. scale — for weighing
  20. fine — high quality
  21. bark — of a tree
  22. current — electric
  23. can — a tin
  24. can — a tin

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