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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. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  3. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  4. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  5. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  6. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  7. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  8. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  9. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  10. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  11. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  12. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  13. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  14. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  15. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  16. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  17. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  18. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  19. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  20. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  21. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  22. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  23. Where did you ________________ them?
  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. wound — an injury
  3. file — a line of people
  4. file — a document
  5. rule — to rule out
  6. file — a tool
  7. mug — a cup
  8. rule — a law
  9. racket — a loud noise
  10. straw — dry grass
  11. racket — for tennis
  12. racket — for tennis
  13. spring — of water
  14. mug — a face
  15. rule — government
  16. spring — a coil
  17. straw — to clutch at straws
  18. spring — the season
  19. current — electric
  20. wound — past of 'wind'
  21. wound — an injury
  22. current — happening now
  23. mug — to rob
  24. straw — a straw man

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