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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. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  2. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  3. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  4. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  5. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  6. I've got to change the light ________________.
  7. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  8. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  9. False peace will not ________________.
  10. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  11. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  12. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  13. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  14. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  15. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  16. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  17. The light ________________ burned out.
  18. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  19. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  20. He is an ace ________________.
  21. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  22. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  23. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  24. We're on a ________________ here.

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

Answer key

  1. last — finally
  2. current — electric
  3. roll — a list
  4. pitcher — a jug
  5. current — happening now
  6. bulb — for light
  7. current — of water
  8. last — final
  9. last — to go on
  10. wound — an injury
  11. club — a group
  12. roll — a cake
  13. wound — past of 'wind'
  14. straw — dry grass
  15. straw — to clutch at straws
  16. wound — an injury
  17. bulb — for light
  18. pitcher — a jug
  19. straw — a straw man
  20. pitcher — in baseball
  21. club — for dancing
  22. club — for golf
  23. bulb — of a plant
  24. roll — on a roll

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