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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. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  2. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  3. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  4. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  5. That was a fun ________________.
  6. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  7. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  8. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  9. Have you found your soul ________________?
  10. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  11. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  12. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  13. He is an ace ________________.
  14. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  15. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  16. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  17. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  18. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  19. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  20. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  21. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  22. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  23. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  24. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cue — a hint
  2. pitcher — a jug
  3. straw — dry grass
  4. rule — to rule out
  5. game — a match
  6. current — electric
  7. straw — a straw man
  8. cue — for pool
  9. mate — a partner
  10. object — an aim
  11. pitcher — a jug
  12. cue — a signal
  13. pitcher — in baseball
  14. mate — to breed
  15. mate — a friend
  16. game — a kind of play
  17. object — to protest
  18. rule — a law
  19. object — a thing
  20. current — happening now
  21. current — of water
  22. game — wild animals
  23. rule — government
  24. straw — to clutch at straws

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