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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. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  2. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  3. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  4. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  5. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  6. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  7. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  8. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  9. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  10. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  11. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  12. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  13. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  14. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  15. That was a fun ________________.
  16. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  17. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  18. Where did you ________________ them?
  19. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  20. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  21. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  22. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  23. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  24. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.

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

Answer key

  1. game — wild animals
  2. wound — an injury
  3. fork — a garden tool
  4. wake — before a funeral
  5. fork — in a road
  6. game — a kind of play
  7. mug — a cup
  8. current — happening now
  9. mug — a face
  10. straw — to clutch at straws
  11. current — of water
  12. bark — of a tree
  13. current — electric
  14. wake — to stop sleeping
  15. game — a match
  16. wound — an injury
  17. wound — past of 'wind'
  18. mug — to rob
  19. straw — dry grass
  20. fork — to eat with
  21. straw — a straw man
  22. bark — a dog's sound
  23. bark — to shout
  24. wake — a trail

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