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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.

Make a worksheet

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. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  2. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  3. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  4. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  5. Did you ________________ the meat?
  6. How do you ________________ your surname?
  7. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  8. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  9. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  10. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  11. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  12. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  13. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  14. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  15. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  16. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  17. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  18. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  19. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  20. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  21. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  22. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  23. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  24. 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. kid — to tease
  2. leaves — lets stay
  3. leaves — to go away
  4. season — of the year
  5. season — to add flavour
  6. spell — letters
  7. straw — dry grass
  8. snap — to click
  9. snap — to snap out of it
  10. spell — magic
  11. fan — a supporter
  12. season — in sport
  13. leaves — of a tree
  14. fan — a supporter
  15. kid — child
  16. straw — a straw man
  17. current — electric
  18. current — of water
  19. snap — to speak sharply
  20. spell — a short time
  21. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  22. straw — to clutch at straws
  23. fan — to cool the air
  24. current — happening now

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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