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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. You don't need to ________________ round.
  2. Did you ________________ the meat?
  3. We're almost out of ________________.
  4. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  5. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  6. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  7. She's very handy with a ________________.
  8. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  9. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  10. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  11. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  12. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  13. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  14. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  15. Have you met the new head ________________?
  16. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  17. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  18. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  19. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  20. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  21. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  22. He works in a ________________ mill.
  23. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  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. pop — to visit
  2. season — to add flavour
  3. pop — soda
  4. foot — part of the body
  5. coach — pulled by horses
  6. straw — to clutch at straws
  7. saw — the tool
  8. shower — to wash
  9. season — in sport
  10. season — of the year
  11. saw — past of 'see'
  12. current — electric
  13. foot — the bottom
  14. coach — a trainer
  15. coach — a trainer
  16. shower — rain
  17. straw — dry grass
  18. straw — a straw man
  19. pop — music
  20. foot — a measure
  21. shower — a meteor shower
  22. saw — the tool
  23. current — of water
  24. 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