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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. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  2. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  3. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  4. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  5. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  6. Did you ________________ the meat?
  7. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  8. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  9. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  10. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  11. I'll be taking the ________________.
  12. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  13. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  14. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  15. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  16. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  17. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  18. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  19. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  20. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  21. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  22. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  23. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  24. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.

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

Answer key

  1. safe — out of danger
  2. current — electric
  3. squash — the sport
  4. squash — the vegetable
  5. hide — to keep secret
  6. season — to add flavour
  7. hide — animal skin
  8. straw — to clutch at straws
  9. safe — a strongbox
  10. current — happening now
  11. tube — the underground
  12. spring — the season
  13. tube — a container
  14. current — of water
  15. hide — to keep secret
  16. season — of the year
  17. straw — a straw man
  18. season — in sport
  19. spring — of water
  20. straw — dry grass
  21. safe — out of danger
  22. spring — a coil
  23. tube — in a tire
  24. squash — to crush

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