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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. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  2. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  3. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  4. She's very handy with a ________________.
  5. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  6. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  7. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  8. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  9. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  10. The light ________________ burned out.
  11. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  12. He works in a ________________ mill.
  13. It's one o'clock ________________.
  14. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  15. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  16. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  17. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  18. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  19. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  20. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  21. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  22. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  23. I've got to change the light ________________.
  24. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.

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

Answer key

  1. fine — high quality
  2. fine — a penalty
  3. tear — from crying
  4. saw — the tool
  5. current — of water
  6. straw — dry grass
  7. fine — all right
  8. current — happening now
  9. sharp — with an edge
  10. bulb — for light
  11. current — electric
  12. saw — the tool
  13. sharp — exactly
  14. fan — a supporter
  15. saw — past of 'see'
  16. fan — a supporter
  17. sharp — clever
  18. fan — to cool the air
  19. bulb — of a plant
  20. tear — to rip
  21. straw — to clutch at straws
  22. straw — a straw man
  23. bulb — for light
  24. tear — from crying

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