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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. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  2. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  3. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  4. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  5. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  6. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  7. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  8. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  9. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  10. This piece is in a major ________________.
  11. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  12. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  13. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  14. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  15. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  16. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  17. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  18. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  19. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  20. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  21. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  22. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  23. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  24. Hard work is the ________________ to success.

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

Answer key

  1. current — electric
  2. wind — moving air
  3. current — happening now
  4. current — of water
  5. object — to protest
  6. wind — moving air
  7. wake — before a funeral
  8. straw — a straw man
  9. kid — to tease
  10. key — in music
  11. wind — to turn a key
  12. mouse — for a computer
  13. mouse — the animal
  14. kid — child
  15. object — an aim
  16. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  17. mouse — the animal
  18. straw — dry grass
  19. object — a thing
  20. straw — to clutch at straws
  21. key — for a lock
  22. wake — to stop sleeping
  23. wake — a trail
  24. key — the most important part

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