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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. The light ________________ burned out.
  2. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  3. I've got to change the light ________________.
  4. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  5. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  6. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  7. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  8. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  9. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  10. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  11. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  12. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  13. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  14. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  15. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  16. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  17. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  18. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  19. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  20. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  21. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  22. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  23. It's one o'clock ________________.
  24. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.

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

Answer key

  1. bulb — for light
  2. straw — to clutch at straws
  3. bulb — for light
  4. current — electric
  5. current — happening now
  6. straw — dry grass
  7. current — of water
  8. field — a subject
  9. kid — to tease
  10. bulb — of a plant
  11. sharp — with an edge
  12. straw — a straw man
  13. staff — employees
  14. field — for sport
  15. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  16. net — after costs
  17. sharp — clever
  18. net — in sport
  19. field — farmland
  20. staff — a stick
  21. kid — child
  22. net — for catching
  23. sharp — exactly
  24. staff — employees

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