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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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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: bay · plane · cold · game · wake · bore · roll · current

  1. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  2. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  3. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  4. We're on a ________________ here.
  5. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  6. The ________________ took off on time.
  7. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  8. That was a fun ________________.
  9. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  10. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  11. The water is too ________________.
  12. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  13. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  14. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  15. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  16. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  17. My mare is ________________ in color.
  18. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  19. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  20. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  21. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  22. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  23. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  24. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. roll — a cake
  2. wake — to stop sleeping
  3. bay — to keep at bay
  4. roll — on a roll
  5. bore — gave birth
  6. plane — an aircraft
  7. game — wild animals
  8. game — a match
  9. cold — the Cold War
  10. current — of water
  11. cold — not warm
  12. wake — a trail
  13. bore — to tire
  14. plane — in geometry
  15. game — a kind of play
  16. plane — a tool
  17. bay — a horse colour
  18. bore — to drill
  19. bay — a part of the sea
  20. current — happening now
  21. cold — an illness
  22. roll — a list
  23. wake — before a funeral
  24. current — electric

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