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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. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  2. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  3. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  4. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  5. When are we going to ________________?
  6. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  7. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  8. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  9. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  10. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  11. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  12. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  13. I can't ________________ this cold.
  14. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  15. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  16. That was a fun ________________.
  17. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  18. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  19. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  20. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  21. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  22. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  23. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  24. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.

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

Answer key

  1. current — happening now
  2. game — wild animals
  3. stand — on your feet
  4. spring — of water
  5. land — to come down
  6. dip — a sauce
  7. dip — to sink
  8. land — ground
  9. straw — a straw man
  10. game — a kind of play
  11. straw — dry grass
  12. spring — the season
  13. stand — to bear
  14. land — a country
  15. spring — a coil
  16. game — a match
  17. dip — to dunk
  18. straw — to clutch at straws
  19. current — electric
  20. stand — for spectators
  21. craft — a handicraft
  22. craft — boats
  23. current — of water
  24. craft — a skill

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