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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. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  2. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  3. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  4. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  5. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  6. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  7. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  8. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  9. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  10. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  11. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  12. The water is too ________________.
  13. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  14. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  15. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  16. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  17. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  18. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  19. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  20. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  21. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  22. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  23. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  24. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — a straw man
  2. lash — to lash out
  3. bass — low music
  4. current — electric
  5. lash — a whip stroke
  6. bass — the instrument
  7. hide — to keep secret
  8. current — of water
  9. hide — to keep secret
  10. fan — to cool the air
  11. straw — dry grass
  12. cold — not warm
  13. hide — animal skin
  14. cap — a hat
  15. fan — a supporter
  16. cold — the Cold War
  17. bass — the fish
  18. current — happening now
  19. cold — an illness
  20. cap — of ice
  21. lash — an eyelash
  22. fan — a supporter
  23. cap — a lid
  24. straw — to clutch at straws

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