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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. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  2. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  3. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  4. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  5. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  6. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  7. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  8. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  9. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  10. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  11. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  12. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  13. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  14. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  15. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  16. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  17. False peace will not ________________.
  18. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  19. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  20. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  21. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  22. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  23. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  24. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!

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

Answer key

  1. hand — help
  2. wake — to stop sleeping
  3. mine — an explosive
  4. wake — before a funeral
  5. can — to be able to
  6. straw — dry grass
  7. rule — government
  8. current — electric
  9. mine — belonging to me
  10. rule — a law
  11. hand — part of the body
  12. rule — to rule out
  13. can — a tin
  14. current — of water
  15. hand — in cards
  16. last — finally
  17. last — to go on
  18. can — a tin
  19. straw — a straw man
  20. mine — for digging
  21. current — happening now
  22. wake — a trail
  23. straw — to clutch at straws
  24. last — final

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