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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. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  2. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  3. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  4. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  5. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  6. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  7. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  8. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  9. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  10. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  11. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  12. When will it ________________ you to start?
  13. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  14. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  15. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  16. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  17. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  18. Don't do anything ________________.
  19. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  20. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  21. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  22. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  23. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  24. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.

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

Answer key

  1. current — of water
  2. squash — the sport
  3. bat — for baseball
  4. degree — temperature
  5. squash — to crush
  6. suit — clothes
  7. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  8. straw — to clutch at straws
  9. bat — the animal
  10. rash — on the skin
  11. suit — in cards
  12. suit — to fit
  13. rash — a series
  14. degree — from a university
  15. degree — an amount
  16. bat — in an idiom
  17. squash — the vegetable
  18. rash — hasty
  19. straw — dry grass
  20. kid — child
  21. current — electric
  22. straw — a straw man
  23. kid — to tease
  24. current — happening now

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