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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. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  2. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  3. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  4. The ________________ market has crashed.
  5. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  6. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  7. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  8. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  9. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  10. This piece is in a major ________________.
  11. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  12. False peace will not ________________.
  13. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  14. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  15. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  16. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  17. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  18. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  19. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  20. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  21. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  22. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  23. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  24. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — to clutch at straws
  2. current — electric
  3. last — final
  4. stock — shares
  5. current — happening now
  6. pitch — a sports field
  7. pitch — a sales talk
  8. can — a tin
  9. key — for a lock
  10. key — in music
  11. stock — a soup base
  12. last — to go on
  13. last — finally
  14. stock — goods
  15. straw — dry grass
  16. can — to be able to
  17. straw — a straw man
  18. pitch — completely
  19. key — the most important part
  20. current — of water
  21. march — the month
  22. march — music
  23. can — a tin
  24. march — the month

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