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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. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  2. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  3. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  4. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  5. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  6. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  7. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  8. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  9. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  10. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  11. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  12. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  13. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  14. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  15. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  16. False peace will not ________________.
  17. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  18. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  19. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  20. It's one o'clock ________________.
  21. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  22. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  23. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  24. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.

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

Answer key

  1. drill — a practice
  2. fall — to drop
  3. current — of water
  4. fork — a garden tool
  5. current — electric
  6. last — final
  7. sharp — clever
  8. current — happening now
  9. sharp — with an edge
  10. fall — to drop
  11. wound — an injury
  12. last — finally
  13. fall — the season
  14. wound — past of 'wind'
  15. drill — army training
  16. last — to go on
  17. drill — the tool
  18. straw — a straw man
  19. straw — to clutch at straws
  20. sharp — exactly
  21. fork — to eat with
  22. straw — dry grass
  23. fork — in a road
  24. wound — an injury

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