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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 116 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. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  3. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  4. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  5. That must've been a ________________.
  6. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  7. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  8. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  9. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  10. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  11. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  12. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  13. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  14. That was a fun ________________.
  15. The ________________ went through the wall.
  16. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  17. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  18. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  19. How do you ________________ your surname?
  20. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  21. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  22. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  23. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  24. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.

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

Answer key

  1. current — of water
  2. straw — to clutch at straws
  3. nail — on a finger
  4. game — wild animals
  5. rush — a thrill
  6. straw — dry grass
  7. race — humankind
  8. chair — to sit on
  9. rush — to hurry
  10. rush — hurry
  11. chair — a professorship
  12. current — electric
  13. nail — for a hammer
  14. game — a match
  15. nail — for a hammer
  16. spell — magic
  17. race — a contest
  18. chair — a leader
  19. spell — letters
  20. spell — a short time
  21. current — happening now
  22. race — the arms race
  23. game — a kind of play
  24. straw — a straw man

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