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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. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  2. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  3. The water is too ________________.
  4. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  5. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  6. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  7. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  8. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  9. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  10. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  11. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  12. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  13. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  14. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  15. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  16. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  17. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  18. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  19. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  20. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  21. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  22. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  23. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  24. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.

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

Answer key

  1. hide — to keep secret
  2. current — happening now
  3. cold — not warm
  4. fan — a supporter
  5. cold — the Cold War
  6. current — of water
  7. cold — an illness
  8. present — a gift
  9. vault — in gymnastics
  10. fan — a supporter
  11. present — the time now
  12. hide — to keep secret
  13. hand — part of the body
  14. present — there
  15. current — electric
  16. vault — a safe
  17. field — a subject
  18. fan — to cool the air
  19. field — farmland
  20. hand — in cards
  21. hand — help
  22. vault — an arched ceiling
  23. field — for sport
  24. hide — animal skin

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