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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. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  2. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  3. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  4. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  5. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  6. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  7. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  8. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  9. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  10. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  11. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  12. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  13. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  14. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  15. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  16. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  17. He was locked up in a ________________.
  18. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  19. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  20. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  21. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  22. Don't do anything ________________.
  23. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  24. How do you ________________ your surname?

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

Answer key

  1. straw — a straw man
  2. cell — a phone
  3. band — a music group
  4. rash — on the skin
  5. straw — dry grass
  6. drill — the tool
  7. current — electric
  8. spell — a short time
  9. drill — army training
  10. spell — magic
  11. straw — to clutch at straws
  12. net — for catching
  13. net — in sport
  14. drill — a practice
  15. current — happening now
  16. net — after costs
  17. cell — in a prison
  18. cell — in biology
  19. band — a ring
  20. band — a rubber band
  21. current — of water
  22. rash — hasty
  23. rash — a series
  24. spell — letters

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