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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 goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  2. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  3. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  4. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  5. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  6. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  7. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  8. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  9. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  10. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  11. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  12. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  13. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  14. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  15. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  16. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  17. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  18. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  19. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  20. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  21. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  22. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  23. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  24. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — dry grass
  2. rest — a break
  3. spring — the season
  4. wake — a trail
  5. drill — the tool
  6. spring — a coil
  7. current — electric
  8. current — happening now
  9. snap — to click
  10. drill — a practice
  11. straw — a straw man
  12. drill — army training
  13. squash — the sport
  14. current — of water
  15. squash — the vegetable
  16. spring — of water
  17. wake — before a funeral
  18. snap — to snap out of it
  19. rest — what's left
  20. squash — to crush
  21. straw — to clutch at straws
  22. wake — to stop sleeping
  23. rest — what's left
  24. snap — to speak sharply

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