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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. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  2. The water is too ________________.
  3. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  4. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  5. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  6. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  7. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  8. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  9. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  10. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  11. Did you ________________ the meat?
  12. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  13. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  14. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  15. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  16. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  17. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  18. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  19. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  20. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  21. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  22. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  23. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  24. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. lean — thin
  2. cold — not warm
  3. cold — an illness
  4. current — electric
  5. current — of water
  6. firm — steady
  7. firm — decided
  8. lean — to rest against
  9. season — of the year
  10. bore — to tire
  11. season — to add flavour
  12. bore — gave birth
  13. bore — to drill
  14. current — happening now
  15. spring — the season
  16. spring — of water
  17. straw — to clutch at straws
  18. cold — the Cold War
  19. straw — a straw man
  20. firm — a company
  21. straw — dry grass
  22. spring — a coil
  23. lean — to bend
  24. season — in sport

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