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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. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  2. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  3. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  4. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  5. How do you ________________ your surname?
  6. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  7. That was ________________ to happen.
  8. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  9. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  10. Did you ________________ the meat?
  11. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  12. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  13. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  14. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  15. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  16. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  17. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  18. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  19. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  20. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  21. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  22. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  23. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  24. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.

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. mine — belonging to me
  4. dip — to dunk
  5. spell — letters
  6. bound — obliged
  7. bound — certain
  8. season — of the year
  9. straw — to clutch at straws
  10. season — to add flavour
  11. bound — tied together
  12. spell — magic
  13. dip — to sink
  14. current — happening now
  15. straw — a straw man
  16. current — electric
  17. straw — dry grass
  18. mine — for digging
  19. lean — to bend
  20. spell — a short time
  21. dip — a sauce
  22. mine — an explosive
  23. lean — to rest against
  24. season — in sport

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