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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. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  2. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  3. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  4. What do you think of the new ________________?
  5. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  6. When are we going to ________________?
  7. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  8. The water is too ________________.
  9. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  10. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  11. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  12. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  13. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  14. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  15. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  16. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  17. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  18. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  19. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  20. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  21. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  22. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  23. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  24. David sat on the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. toast — bread
  2. present — there
  3. current — of water
  4. cabinet — ministers
  5. current — electric
  6. land — to come down
  7. swing — in golf
  8. cold — not warm
  9. present — a gift
  10. land — a country
  11. straw — dry grass
  12. current — happening now
  13. toast — the most admired
  14. cabinet — ministers
  15. swing — music
  16. toast — a drink to someone
  17. straw — to clutch at straws
  18. land — ground
  19. cold — an illness
  20. straw — a straw man
  21. present — the time now
  22. cabinet — a cupboard
  23. cold — the Cold War
  24. swing — to play on

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