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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 116 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. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  3. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  4. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  5. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  6. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  7. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  8. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  9. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  10. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  11. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  12. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  13. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  14. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  15. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  16. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  17. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  18. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  19. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  20. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  21. The tickets are free of ________________.
  22. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  23. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  24. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — dry grass
  2. snap — to speak sharply
  3. current — electric
  4. bark — to shout
  5. current — happening now
  6. snap — to click
  7. net — for catching
  8. charge — electricity
  9. bark — a dog's sound
  10. shower — to wash
  11. bark — of a tree
  12. net — in sport
  13. straw — a straw man
  14. wind — moving air
  15. shower — rain
  16. charge — in control
  17. net — after costs
  18. wind — moving air
  19. wind — to turn a key
  20. current — of water
  21. charge — a price
  22. shower — a meteor shower
  23. straw — to clutch at straws
  24. snap — to snap out of it

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