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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. I'll be taking the ________________.
  2. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  3. Don't do anything ________________.
  4. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  5. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  6. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  7. Have you found your soul ________________?
  8. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  9. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  10. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  11. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  12. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  13. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  14. What do you think of the new ________________?
  15. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  16. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  17. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  18. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  19. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  20. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  21. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  22. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  23. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  24. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.

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

Answer key

  1. tube — the underground
  2. mate — a friend
  3. rash — hasty
  4. current — of water
  5. rash — a series
  6. straw — dry grass
  7. mate — a partner
  8. cabinet — ministers
  9. straw — to clutch at straws
  10. shower — to wash
  11. mate — to breed
  12. tube — in a tire
  13. straw — a straw man
  14. cabinet — ministers
  15. firm — decided
  16. shower — a meteor shower
  17. tube — a container
  18. firm — steady
  19. cabinet — a cupboard
  20. rash — on the skin
  21. shower — rain
  22. firm — a company
  23. current — electric
  24. current — happening now

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