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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: shower · kid · current · wind · pitch · toast · firm · cold

  1. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  2. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  3. The water is too ________________.
  4. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  5. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  6. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  7. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  8. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  9. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  10. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  11. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  12. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  13. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  14. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  15. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  16. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  17. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  18. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  19. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  20. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  21. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  22. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  23. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  24. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.

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

Answer key

  1. current — happening now
  2. cold — an illness
  3. cold — not warm
  4. shower — a meteor shower
  5. pitch — a sports field
  6. wind — to turn a key
  7. kid — child
  8. shower — to wash
  9. firm — a company
  10. current — electric
  11. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  12. toast — a drink to someone
  13. kid — to tease
  14. cold — the Cold War
  15. firm — steady
  16. pitch — completely
  17. pitch — a sales talk
  18. current — of water
  19. toast — the most admired
  20. toast — bread
  21. shower — rain
  22. wind — moving air
  23. firm — decided
  24. wind — moving 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