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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 120 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. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  2. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  3. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  4. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  5. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  6. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  7. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  8. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  9. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  10. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  11. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  12. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  13. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  14. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  15. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  16. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  17. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  18. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  19. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  20. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  21. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  22. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  23. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  24. My father caught me by the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rock — music
  2. straw — to clutch at straws
  3. current — of water
  4. wound — an injury
  5. chair — a leader
  6. rock — a stone
  7. craft — a handicraft
  8. net — for catching
  9. net — in sport
  10. chair — to sit on
  11. straw — dry grass
  12. craft — boats
  13. straw — a straw man
  14. craft — a skill
  15. current — happening now
  16. current — electric
  17. arm — part of the body
  18. wound — past of 'wind'
  19. arm — a part of something
  20. rock — to move gently
  21. net — after costs
  22. chair — a professorship
  23. wound — an injury
  24. arm — part of the body

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