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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. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  2. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  3. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  4. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  5. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  6. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  7. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  8. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  9. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  10. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  11. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  12. The water is too ________________.
  13. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  14. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  15. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  16. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  17. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  18. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  19. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  20. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  21. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  22. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  23. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  24. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.

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

Answer key

  1. club — for dancing
  2. file — a tool
  3. lean — thin
  4. straw — dry grass
  5. lean — to rest against
  6. file — a line of people
  7. current — electric
  8. pass — to spend time
  9. root — of a plant
  10. current — of water
  11. straw — a straw man
  12. cold — not warm
  13. current — happening now
  14. cold — the Cold War
  15. pass — to succeed
  16. file — a document
  17. cold — an illness
  18. straw — to clutch at straws
  19. pass — a permit
  20. club — for golf
  21. root — the cause
  22. root — of a word
  23. club — a group
  24. lean — to bend

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