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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 116 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 in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  2. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  3. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  4. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  5. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  6. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  7. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  8. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  9. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  10. That was ________________ to happen.
  11. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  12. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  13. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  14. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  15. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  16. False peace will not ________________.
  17. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  18. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.

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

Answer key

  1. current — of water
  2. bound — obliged
  3. last — final
  4. row — a line
  5. straw — a straw man
  6. straw — to clutch at straws
  7. row — a quarrel
  8. bound — tied together
  9. current — electric
  10. bound — certain
  11. last — finally
  12. stem — to come from
  13. row — to paddle
  14. stem — of a plant
  15. stem — a stem cell
  16. last — to go on
  17. straw — dry grass
  18. current — happening now

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