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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 bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  2. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  3. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  4. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  5. How do you ________________ your surname?
  6. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  7. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  8. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  9. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  10. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  11. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  12. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  13. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  14. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  15. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  16. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  17. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  18. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  19. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  20. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  21. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  22. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  23. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  24. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?

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

Answer key

  1. jam — in traffic
  2. spell — magic
  3. rule — to rule out
  4. file — a tool
  5. spell — letters
  6. current — happening now
  7. straw — dry grass
  8. rule — a law
  9. spell — a short time
  10. jam — a tight spot
  11. prune — the fruit
  12. straw — a straw man
  13. file — a document
  14. prune — to trim
  15. jam — to spread on bread
  16. current — of water
  17. snap — to speak sharply
  18. straw — to clutch at straws
  19. prune — to trim
  20. snap — to snap out of it
  21. file — a line of people
  22. snap — to click
  23. current — electric
  24. rule — government

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