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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 valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  2. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  3. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  4. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  5. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  6. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  7. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  8. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  9. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  10. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  11. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  12. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  13. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  14. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  15. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  16. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  17. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  18. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  19. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  20. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  21. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  22. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  23. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  24. The ball hit the back of the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. object — a thing
  2. hand — in cards
  3. straw — dry grass
  4. net — after costs
  5. bat — the animal
  6. object — an aim
  7. current — electric
  8. row — a line
  9. current — of water
  10. bat — in an idiom
  11. lean — to rest against
  12. object — to protest
  13. straw — a straw man
  14. lean — to bend
  15. row — to paddle
  16. hand — help
  17. hand — part of the body
  18. net — for catching
  19. straw — to clutch at straws
  20. row — a quarrel
  21. lean — thin
  22. current — happening now
  23. bat — for baseball
  24. net — in sport

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