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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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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: rule · fan · current · cell · wave · snap · rest · wound

  1. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  2. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  3. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  4. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  5. He was locked up in a ________________.
  6. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  7. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  8. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  9. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  10. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  11. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  12. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  13. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  14. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  15. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  16. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  17. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  18. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  19. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  20. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  21. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  22. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  23. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  24. Can you turn the ________________ on?

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to click
  2. wound — past of 'wind'
  3. current — happening now
  4. rest — a break
  5. cell — in a prison
  6. wave — of the sea
  7. current — of water
  8. wave — with your hand
  9. snap — to speak sharply
  10. rest — what's left
  11. rest — what's left
  12. rule — government
  13. wound — an injury
  14. fan — a supporter
  15. current — electric
  16. rule — to rule out
  17. cell — in biology
  18. wound — an injury
  19. snap — to snap out of it
  20. fan — a supporter
  21. wave — a sudden rise
  22. rule — a law
  23. cell — a phone
  24. fan — to cool the air

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