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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. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  3. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  4. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  5. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  6. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  7. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  8. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  9. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  10. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  11. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  12. False peace will not ________________.
  13. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  14. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  15. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  16. The water is too ________________.
  17. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  18. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  19. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  20. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  21. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  22. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  23. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  24. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.

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

Answer key

  1. current — of water
  2. lean — thin
  3. lean — to bend
  4. cold — an illness
  5. fine — a penalty
  6. fine — all right
  7. club — for golf
  8. last — final
  9. cold — the Cold War
  10. deal — an agreement
  11. fall — to drop
  12. last — to go on
  13. lean — to rest against
  14. fine — high quality
  15. current — electric
  16. cold — not warm
  17. club — for dancing
  18. fall — the season
  19. club — a group
  20. current — happening now
  21. fall — to drop
  22. deal — a big deal
  23. last — finally
  24. deal — to handle

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