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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 flowers bloom in the ________________.
  2. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  3. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  4. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  5. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  6. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  7. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  8. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  9. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  10. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  11. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  12. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  13. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  14. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  15. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  16. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  17. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  18. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  19. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  20. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  21. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  22. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  23. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  24. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — the season
  2. row — to paddle
  3. toast — a drink to someone
  4. clip — to cut
  5. snap — to snap out of it
  6. straw — to clutch at straws
  7. current — happening now
  8. foot — part of the body
  9. row — a quarrel
  10. clip — for paper
  11. snap — to speak sharply
  12. spring — a coil
  13. foot — a measure
  14. straw — dry grass
  15. current — electric
  16. current — of water
  17. straw — a straw man
  18. row — a line
  19. toast — bread
  20. toast — the most admired
  21. spring — of water
  22. foot — the bottom
  23. clip — a video
  24. snap — to click

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