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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. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  2. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  3. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  4. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  5. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  6. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  7. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  8. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  9. The ball is in your ________________.
  10. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  11. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  12. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  13. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  14. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  15. Have you found your soul ________________?
  16. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  17. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  18. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  19. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  20. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  21. When are we going to ________________?
  22. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  23. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  24. I got dealt a bad ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mouse — the animal
  2. mouse — the animal
  3. current — electric
  4. mate — to breed
  5. court — of a king
  6. land — ground
  7. drill — army training
  8. current — of water
  9. court — for sport
  10. drill — the tool
  11. straw — a straw man
  12. straw — to clutch at straws
  13. hand — help
  14. straw — dry grass
  15. mate — a partner
  16. drill — a practice
  17. land — a country
  18. current — happening now
  19. hand — part of the body
  20. mouse — for a computer
  21. land — to come down
  22. court — of law
  23. mate — a friend
  24. hand — in cards

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