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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 120 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.

Words on the sheet
468
Word bank
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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: lash · march · bear · wake · cold · pitcher · trunk · current

  1. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  2. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  3. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  4. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  5. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  6. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  7. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  8. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  9. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  10. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  11. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  12. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  13. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  14. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  15. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  16. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  17. The water is too ________________.
  18. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  19. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  20. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  21. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  22. He is an ace ________________.
  23. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  24. A black ________________ roamed the forest.

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

Answer key

  1. current — happening now
  2. march — music
  3. trunk — of a car
  4. lash — a whip stroke
  5. lash — to lash out
  6. march — the month
  7. bear — the animal
  8. current — electric
  9. wake — before a funeral
  10. pitcher — a jug
  11. wake — to stop sleeping
  12. current — of water
  13. lash — an eyelash
  14. cold — the Cold War
  15. cold — an illness
  16. wake — a trail
  17. cold — not warm
  18. pitcher — a jug
  19. trunk — of a tree
  20. bear — to put up with
  21. trunk — of an elephant
  22. pitcher — in baseball
  23. march — the month
  24. bear — the animal

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