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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 from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: cell · pass · wind · cold · current · fall · wound · scale

  1. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  2. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  3. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  4. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  5. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  6. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  7. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  8. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  9. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  10. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  11. He was locked up in a ________________.
  12. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  13. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  14. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  15. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  16. The water is too ________________.
  17. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  18. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  19. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  20. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  21. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  22. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  23. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  24. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.

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

Answer key

  1. fall — to drop
  2. pass — to spend time
  3. wound — an injury
  4. cell — in biology
  5. pass — a permit
  6. current — of water
  7. current — electric
  8. scale — size or range
  9. cold — the Cold War
  10. wound — past of 'wind'
  11. cell — in a prison
  12. cold — an illness
  13. cell — a phone
  14. wound — an injury
  15. scale — in music
  16. cold — not warm
  17. fall — the season
  18. fall — to drop
  19. wind — to turn a key
  20. wind — moving air
  21. wind — moving air
  22. scale — for weighing
  23. pass — to succeed
  24. current — happening now

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