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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. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  2. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  3. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  4. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  5. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  6. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  7. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  8. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  9. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  10. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  11. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  12. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  13. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  14. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  15. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  16. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  17. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  18. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  19. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  20. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  21. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  22. It's one o'clock ________________.
  23. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  24. My father caught me by the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — clever
  2. wind — moving air
  3. trunk — of an elephant
  4. current — of water
  5. trunk — of a car
  6. bass — low music
  7. net — for catching
  8. current — electric
  9. bass — the instrument
  10. arm — a part of something
  11. straw — a straw man
  12. straw — dry grass
  13. net — after costs
  14. straw — to clutch at straws
  15. wind — moving air
  16. bass — the fish
  17. wind — to turn a key
  18. trunk — of a tree
  19. current — happening now
  20. sharp — with an edge
  21. net — in sport
  22. sharp — exactly
  23. arm — part of the body
  24. arm — part of the body

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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