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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: can · shower · current · stick · cold · wake · bulb · pop

  1. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  2. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  3. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  4. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  5. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  6. We're almost out of ________________.
  7. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  8. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  9. The light ________________ burned out.
  10. The water is too ________________.
  11. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  12. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  13. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  14. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  15. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  16. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  17. I've got to change the light ________________.
  18. You don't need to ________________ round.
  19. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  20. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  21. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  22. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  23. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  24. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.

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

Answer key

  1. can — a tin
  2. pop — music
  3. can — to be able to
  4. current — of water
  5. stick — a piece of wood
  6. pop — soda
  7. wake — to stop sleeping
  8. stick — to attach or keep to
  9. bulb — for light
  10. cold — not warm
  11. stick — a piece of wood
  12. current — happening now
  13. can — a tin
  14. current — electric
  15. cold — an illness
  16. cold — the Cold War
  17. bulb — for light
  18. pop — to visit
  19. wake — a trail
  20. wake — before a funeral
  21. shower — a meteor shower
  22. shower — to wash
  23. shower — rain
  24. bulb — of a plant

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