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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. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  2. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  3. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  4. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  5. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  6. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  7. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  8. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  9. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  10. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  11. That must've been a ________________.
  12. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  13. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  14. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  15. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  16. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  17. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  18. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  19. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  20. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  21. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  22. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  23. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  24. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — moving air
  2. current — happening now
  3. wind — moving air
  4. pound — for dogs
  5. current — of water
  6. file — a tool
  7. fall — the season
  8. row — to paddle
  9. rush — to hurry
  10. wind — to turn a key
  11. rush — a thrill
  12. file — a document
  13. wake — to stop sleeping
  14. fall — to drop
  15. pound — a weight
  16. rush — hurry
  17. pound — to hit hard
  18. wake — before a funeral
  19. row — a line
  20. file — a line of people
  21. current — electric
  22. row — a quarrel
  23. wake — a trail
  24. fall — to drop

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