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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. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  2. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  3. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  4. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  5. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  6. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  7. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  8. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  9. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  10. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  11. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  12. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  13. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  14. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  15. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  16. That was a fun ________________.
  17. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  18. He was locked up in a ________________.
  19. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  20. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  21. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  22. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  23. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  24. Let us try to swim against the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cell — in biology
  2. track — a song
  3. current — happening now
  4. cell — a phone
  5. straw — dry grass
  6. perch — the fish
  7. pound — to hit hard
  8. shower — rain
  9. pound — a weight
  10. pound — for dogs
  11. game — a kind of play
  12. straw — to clutch at straws
  13. game — wild animals
  14. perch — for a bird
  15. straw — a straw man
  16. game — a match
  17. track — to keep track
  18. cell — in a prison
  19. current — electric
  20. perch — for a bird
  21. shower — a meteor shower
  22. track — a path
  23. shower — to wash
  24. current — of water

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