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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. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  3. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  4. My mare is ________________ in color.
  5. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  6. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  7. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  8. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  9. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  10. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  11. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  12. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  13. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  14. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  15. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  16. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  17. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  18. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  19. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  20. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  21. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  22. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  23. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  24. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. current — electric
  2. safe — out of danger
  3. current — of water
  4. bay — a horse colour
  5. straw — a straw man
  6. bay — a part of the sea
  7. bat — in an idiom
  8. bat — the animal
  9. file — a tool
  10. bay — to keep at bay
  11. safe — out of danger
  12. file — a document
  13. spring — a coil
  14. spring — the season
  15. straw — dry grass
  16. safe — a strongbox
  17. straw — to clutch at straws
  18. content — the amount
  19. spring — of water
  20. bat — for baseball
  21. file — a line of people
  22. current — happening now
  23. content — videos and posts
  24. content — happy

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