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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. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  2. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  3. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  4. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  5. That must've been a ________________.
  6. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  7. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  8. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  9. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  10. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  11. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  12. That was a fun ________________.
  13. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  14. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  15. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  16. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  17. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  18. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  19. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  20. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  21. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  22. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  23. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  24. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.

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

Answer key

  1. current — of water
  2. shower — rain
  3. rush — hurry
  4. straw — dry grass
  5. rush — a thrill
  6. wake — a trail
  7. straw — to clutch at straws
  8. can — a tin
  9. current — happening now
  10. straw — a straw man
  11. rush — to hurry
  12. game — a match
  13. spring — the season
  14. spring — a coil
  15. can — to be able to
  16. current — electric
  17. wake — before a funeral
  18. game — wild animals
  19. shower — a meteor shower
  20. wake — to stop sleeping
  21. shower — to wash
  22. can — a tin
  23. spring — of water
  24. game — a kind of play

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