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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. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  2. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  3. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  4. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  5. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  6. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  7. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  8. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  9. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  10. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  11. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  12. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  13. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  14. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  15. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  16. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  17. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  18. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  19. Have you settled on a ________________?
  20. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  21. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  22. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  23. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  24. Check the label for the sugar ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. current — electric
  2. trunk — of a tree
  3. straw — a straw man
  4. fan — to cool the air
  5. fan — a supporter
  6. fan — a supporter
  7. straw — to clutch at straws
  8. fall — to drop
  9. content — videos and posts
  10. fall — the season
  11. march — the month
  12. current — of water
  13. fall — to drop
  14. march — music
  15. trunk — of a car
  16. content — happy
  17. straw — dry grass
  18. date — on the calendar
  19. date — on the calendar
  20. march — the month
  21. date — the fruit
  22. current — happening now
  23. trunk — of an elephant
  24. content — the amount

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