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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. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  2. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  3. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  4. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  5. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  6. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  7. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  8. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  9. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  10. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  11. The King held a masked ________________.
  12. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  13. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  14. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  15. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  16. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  17. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  18. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. ball — a great time
  2. current — electric
  3. straw — dry grass
  4. tear — from crying
  5. current — happening now
  6. straw — a straw man
  7. net — in sport
  8. tear — to rip
  9. tear — from crying
  10. ball — a round shape
  11. ball — a dance
  12. current — of water
  13. rule — government
  14. net — for catching
  15. net — after costs
  16. rule — a law
  17. rule — to rule out
  18. straw — to clutch at straws

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