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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. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  2. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  3. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  4. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  5. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  6. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  7. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  8. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  9. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  10. The ________________ took off on time.
  11. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  12. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  13. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  14. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  15. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  16. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  17. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  18. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  19. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  20. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  21. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  22. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  23. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  24. The ball hit the back of the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. current — of water
  2. current — electric
  3. straw — to clutch at straws
  4. net — for catching
  5. pound — to hit hard
  6. current — happening now
  7. straw — dry grass
  8. pound — for dogs
  9. plane — in geometry
  10. plane — an aircraft
  11. root — the cause
  12. net — after costs
  13. shower — rain
  14. pound — a weight
  15. straw — a straw man
  16. trunk — of an elephant
  17. shower — a meteor shower
  18. trunk — of a tree
  19. root — of a plant
  20. shower — to wash
  21. plane — a tool
  22. root — of a word
  23. trunk — of a car
  24. net — in sport

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