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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. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  2. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  3. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  4. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  5. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  6. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  7. The ball is in your ________________.
  8. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  9. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  10. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  11. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  12. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  13. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  14. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  15. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  16. That was a fun ________________.
  17. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  18. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  19. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  20. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  21. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  22. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  23. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  24. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — help
  2. current — electric
  3. wave — of the sea
  4. straw — a straw man
  5. court — of a king
  6. wave — a sudden rise
  7. court — for sport
  8. game — a kind of play
  9. leaves — of a tree
  10. game — wild animals
  11. straw — dry grass
  12. wave — with your hand
  13. snap — to click
  14. leaves — to go away
  15. hand — in cards
  16. game — a match
  17. court — of law
  18. snap — to speak sharply
  19. straw — to clutch at straws
  20. snap — to snap out of it
  21. hand — part of the body
  22. current — of water
  23. current — happening now
  24. leaves — lets stay

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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