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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. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  2. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  3. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  4. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  5. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  6. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  7. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  8. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  9. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  10. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  11. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  12. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  13. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  14. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  15. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  16. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  17. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  18. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  19. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  20. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  21. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  22. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  23. Don't do anything ________________.
  24. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — dry grass
  2. wound — an injury
  3. current — of water
  4. branch — of a tree
  5. hand — help
  6. straw — to clutch at straws
  7. rash — on the skin
  8. face — part of the head
  9. face — to point toward
  10. hand — part of the body
  11. current — electric
  12. row — a line
  13. row — to paddle
  14. branch — a division
  15. face — to confront
  16. rash — a series
  17. row — a quarrel
  18. hand — in cards
  19. straw — a straw man
  20. current — happening now
  21. branch — of a bank
  22. wound — past of 'wind'
  23. rash — hasty
  24. wound — an injury

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