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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 120 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. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  2. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  3. How do you ________________ your surname?
  4. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  5. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  6. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  7. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  8. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  9. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  10. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  11. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  12. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  13. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  14. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  15. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  16. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  17. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  18. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  19. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  20. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  21. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  22. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  23. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  24. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.

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

Answer key

  1. bear — the animal
  2. straw — dry grass
  3. spell — letters
  4. hide — animal skin
  5. bear — to put up with
  6. hide — to keep secret
  7. straw — to clutch at straws
  8. wound — an injury
  9. wound — past of 'wind'
  10. hide — to keep secret
  11. current — of water
  12. current — electric
  13. spring — of water
  14. track — a path
  15. spring — the season
  16. track — to keep track
  17. bear — the animal
  18. spring — a coil
  19. straw — a straw man
  20. spell — magic
  21. spell — a short time
  22. current — happening now
  23. track — a song
  24. wound — an injury

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