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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. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  2. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  3. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  4. When are we going to ________________?
  5. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  6. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  7. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  8. I'll be taking the ________________.
  9. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  10. Don't do anything ________________.
  11. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  12. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  13. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  14. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  15. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  16. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  17. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  18. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  19. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  20. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  21. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  22. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  23. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  24. You can't go backstage without a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. current — happening now
  2. march — the month
  3. march — the month
  4. land — to come down
  5. march — music
  6. tube — in a tire
  7. current — of water
  8. tube — the underground
  9. squash — the vegetable
  10. rash — hasty
  11. straw — dry grass
  12. tube — a container
  13. land — ground
  14. straw — to clutch at straws
  15. current — electric
  16. rash — on the skin
  17. pass — to spend time
  18. straw — a straw man
  19. squash — the sport
  20. squash — to crush
  21. pass — to succeed
  22. rash — a series
  23. land — a country
  24. pass — a permit

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