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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.

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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: mine · suit · cold · spell · fall · rest · wave · current

  1. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  2. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  3. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  4. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  5. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  6. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  7. When will it ________________ you to start?
  8. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  9. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  10. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  11. How do you ________________ your surname?
  12. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  13. The water is too ________________.
  14. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  15. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  16. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  17. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  18. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  19. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  20. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  21. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  22. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  23. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  24. Let us try to swim against the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. suit — in cards
  2. wave — with your hand
  3. fall — to drop
  4. fall — to drop
  5. mine — belonging to me
  6. wave — a sudden rise
  7. suit — to fit
  8. rest — what's left
  9. fall — the season
  10. current — happening now
  11. spell — letters
  12. suit — clothes
  13. cold — not warm
  14. mine — for digging
  15. rest — a break
  16. cold — the Cold War
  17. cold — an illness
  18. current — electric
  19. wave — of the sea
  20. spell — magic
  21. rest — what's left
  22. mine — an explosive
  23. spell — a short time
  24. current — of water

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