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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. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  2. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  3. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  4. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  5. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  6. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  7. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  8. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  9. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  10. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  11. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  12. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  13. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  14. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  15. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  16. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  17. How do you ________________ your surname?
  18. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  19. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  20. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  21. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  22. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  23. When are we going to ________________?
  24. We took cover from the thunder ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. land — ground
  2. current — electric
  3. safe — out of danger
  4. shower — to wash
  5. shower — a meteor shower
  6. rest — a break
  7. hand — help
  8. stick — a piece of wood
  9. current — happening now
  10. hand — part of the body
  11. spell — a short time
  12. spell — magic
  13. hand — in cards
  14. stick — to attach or keep to
  15. safe — a strongbox
  16. rest — what's left
  17. spell — letters
  18. current — of water
  19. rest — what's left
  20. safe — out of danger
  21. stick — a piece of wood
  22. land — a country
  23. land — to come down
  24. shower — rain

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