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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 hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  2. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  3. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  4. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  5. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  6. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  7. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  8. That was a fun ________________.
  9. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  10. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  11. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  12. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  13. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  14. It's one o'clock ________________.
  15. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  16. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  17. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  18. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  19. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  20. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  21. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  22. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  23. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  24. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.

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

Answer key

  1. mark — a trace
  2. current — happening now
  3. sharp — clever
  4. fine — high quality
  5. game — wild animals
  6. bat — the animal
  7. snap — to click
  8. game — a match
  9. mark — to pay attention
  10. straw — to clutch at straws
  11. current — of water
  12. bat — in an idiom
  13. fine — all right
  14. sharp — exactly
  15. sharp — with an edge
  16. straw — dry grass
  17. current — electric
  18. snap — to speak sharply
  19. bat — for baseball
  20. straw — a straw man
  21. snap — to snap out of it
  22. mark — a grade
  23. game — a kind of play
  24. fine — a penalty

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