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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. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  2. I'll be taking the ________________.
  3. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  4. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  5. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  6. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  7. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  8. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  9. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  10. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  11. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  12. You don't need to ________________ round.
  13. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  14. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  15. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  16. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  17. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  18. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  19. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  20. My mare is ________________ in color.
  21. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  22. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  23. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  24. We're almost out of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. current — electric
  2. tube — the underground
  3. wind — to turn a key
  4. straw — to clutch at straws
  5. snap — to click
  6. snap — to speak sharply
  7. tube — in a tire
  8. bay — a part of the sea
  9. tube — a container
  10. current — of water
  11. snap — to snap out of it
  12. pop — to visit
  13. pop — music
  14. content — videos and posts
  15. straw — a straw man
  16. content — the amount
  17. wind — moving air
  18. content — happy
  19. bay — to keep at bay
  20. bay — a horse colour
  21. straw — dry grass
  22. wind — moving air
  23. current — happening now
  24. pop — soda

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