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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. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  2. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  3. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  4. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  5. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  6. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  7. He works in a ________________ mill.
  8. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  9. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  10. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  11. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  12. She's very handy with a ________________.
  13. When was this ________________ built?
  14. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  15. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  16. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  17. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  18. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  19. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  20. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  21. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  22. He was locked up in a ________________.
  23. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  24. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.

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

Answer key

  1. saw — past of 'see'
  2. staff — employees
  3. straw — to clutch at straws
  4. wind — to turn a key
  5. temple — a place of worship
  6. wound — past of 'wind'
  7. saw — the tool
  8. staff — a stick
  9. staff — employees
  10. wind — moving air
  11. straw — dry grass
  12. saw — the tool
  13. temple — a place of worship
  14. current — of water
  15. current — electric
  16. straw — a straw man
  17. cell — a phone
  18. wound — an injury
  19. temple — side of the head
  20. wound — an injury
  21. wind — moving air
  22. cell — in a prison
  23. cell — in biology
  24. current — happening now

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