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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 little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  2. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  3. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  4. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  5. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  6. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  7. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  8. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  9. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  10. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  11. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  12. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  13. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  14. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  15. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  16. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  17. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  18. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  19. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  20. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  21. He was locked up in a ________________.
  22. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  23. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  24. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bear — the animal
  2. current — of water
  3. current — electric
  4. snap — to speak sharply
  5. bear — the animal
  6. cell — a phone
  7. snap — to click
  8. current — happening now
  9. lie — an untruth
  10. straw — a straw man
  11. hand — part of the body
  12. hand — in cards
  13. lie — an untruth
  14. straw — to clutch at straws
  15. cell — in biology
  16. lie — to recline
  17. shower — rain
  18. shower — to wash
  19. bear — to put up with
  20. snap — to snap out of it
  21. cell — in a prison
  22. shower — a meteor shower
  23. hand — help
  24. straw — dry grass

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