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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. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  2. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  3. The tickets are free of ________________.
  4. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  5. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  6. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  7. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  8. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  9. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  10. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  11. The water is too ________________.
  12. She's very handy with a ________________.
  13. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  14. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  15. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  16. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  17. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  18. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  19. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  20. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  21. When are we going to ________________?
  22. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  23. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  24. He works in a ________________ mill.

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

Answer key

  1. land — ground
  2. straw — a straw man
  3. charge — a price
  4. current — of water
  5. charge — in control
  6. snap — to click
  7. cold — the Cold War
  8. lash — a whip stroke
  9. straw — dry grass
  10. straw — to clutch at straws
  11. cold — not warm
  12. saw — the tool
  13. snap — to snap out of it
  14. land — a country
  15. lash — an eyelash
  16. cold — an illness
  17. saw — past of 'see'
  18. snap — to speak sharply
  19. lash — to lash out
  20. current — happening now
  21. land — to come down
  22. current — electric
  23. charge — electricity
  24. saw — the tool

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