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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. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  2. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  3. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  4. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  5. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  6. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  7. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  8. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  9. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  10. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  11. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  12. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  13. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  14. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  15. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  16. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  17. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  18. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  19. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  20. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  21. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  22. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  23. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  24. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.

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

Answer key

  1. current — of water
  2. lean — thin
  3. wax — to grow
  4. cue — for pool
  5. cue — a hint
  6. root — of a word
  7. root — the cause
  8. straw — to clutch at straws
  9. kick — a thrill
  10. bat — the animal
  11. current — happening now
  12. lean — to bend
  13. cue — a signal
  14. bat — in an idiom
  15. bat — for baseball
  16. straw — a straw man
  17. current — electric
  18. wax — for sculpting
  19. straw — dry grass
  20. kick — in football
  21. root — of a plant
  22. wax — in the ear
  23. lean — to rest against
  24. kick — with a leg

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