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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. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  2. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  3. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  4. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  5. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  6. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  7. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  8. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  9. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  10. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  11. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  12. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  13. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  14. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  15. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  16. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  17. That was a fun ________________.
  18. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  19. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  20. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  21. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  22. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  23. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  24. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. lean — to rest against
  2. straw — dry grass
  3. clip — for paper
  4. straw — a straw man
  5. game — a kind of play
  6. race — humankind
  7. bass — the instrument
  8. bass — the fish
  9. current — electric
  10. race — the arms race
  11. bass — low music
  12. clip — a video
  13. lean — thin
  14. race — a contest
  15. ruler — for measuring
  16. clip — to cut
  17. game — a match
  18. ruler — a monarch
  19. game — wild animals
  20. current — of water
  21. ruler — for measuring
  22. current — happening now
  23. lean — to bend
  24. straw — to clutch at straws

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