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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 120 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. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  3. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  4. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  5. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  6. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  7. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  8. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  9. It's one o'clock ________________.
  10. You don't need to ________________ round.
  11. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  12. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  13. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  14. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  15. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  16. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  17. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  18. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  19. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  20. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  21. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  22. We're almost out of ________________.
  23. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  24. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — dry grass
  2. branch — of a tree
  3. sharp — clever
  4. spring — of water
  5. branch — of a bank
  6. branch — a division
  7. straw — to clutch at straws
  8. sharp — with an edge
  9. sharp — exactly
  10. pop — to visit
  11. chair — to sit on
  12. shower — a meteor shower
  13. shower — to wash
  14. shower — rain
  15. straw — a straw man
  16. current — happening now
  17. current — of water
  18. spring — a coil
  19. current — electric
  20. chair — a leader
  21. chair — a professorship
  22. pop — soda
  23. spring — the season
  24. pop — music

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