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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 116 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. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  2. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  3. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  4. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  5. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  6. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  7. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  8. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  9. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  10. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  11. He works in a ________________ mill.
  12. She's very handy with a ________________.
  13. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  14. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  15. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  16. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  17. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  18. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  19. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  20. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  21. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  22. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  23. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  24. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — dry grass
  2. chair — a professorship
  3. current — of water
  4. fall — to drop
  5. squash — the sport
  6. saw — past of 'see'
  7. straw — to clutch at straws
  8. chair — to sit on
  9. face — to point toward
  10. fall — to drop
  11. saw — the tool
  12. saw — the tool
  13. squash — to crush
  14. face — to confront
  15. bark — to shout
  16. current — happening now
  17. squash — the vegetable
  18. face — part of the head
  19. current — electric
  20. straw — a straw man
  21. bark — of a tree
  22. bark — a dog's sound
  23. chair — a leader
  24. fall — the season

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