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

  1. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  2. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  3. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  4. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  5. When are we going to ________________?
  6. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  7. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  8. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  9. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  10. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  11. He was locked up in a ________________.
  12. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  13. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  14. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  15. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  16. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  17. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  18. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.

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

Answer key

  1. current — electric
  2. toast — bread
  3. land — ground
  4. toast — a drink to someone
  5. land — to come down
  6. present — the time now
  7. straw — to clutch at straws
  8. current — happening now
  9. cell — in biology
  10. present — there
  11. cell — in a prison
  12. cell — a phone
  13. current — of water
  14. toast — the most admired
  15. straw — dry grass
  16. present — a gift
  17. land — a country
  18. straw — a straw man

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