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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 ball hit the back of the ________________.
  2. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  3. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  4. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  5. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  6. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  7. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  8. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  9. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  10. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  11. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  12. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  13. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  14. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  15. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  16. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  17. This piece is in a major ________________.
  18. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  19. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  20. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  21. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  22. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  23. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  24. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.

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

Answer key

  1. net — in sport
  2. straw — dry grass
  3. wound — an injury
  4. key — the most important part
  5. shower — to wash
  6. straw — a straw man
  7. straw — to clutch at straws
  8. wound — past of 'wind'
  9. current — of water
  10. fall — the season
  11. current — happening now
  12. shower — rain
  13. fall — to drop
  14. current — electric
  15. key — for a lock
  16. net — after costs
  17. key — in music
  18. fall — to drop
  19. shower — a meteor shower
  20. foot — part of the body
  21. foot — the bottom
  22. wound — an injury
  23. net — for catching
  24. foot — a measure

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