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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. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  2. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  3. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  4. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  5. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  6. The King held a masked ________________.
  7. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  8. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  9. The water is too ________________.
  10. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  11. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  12. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  13. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  14. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  15. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  16. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  17. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  18. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  19. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  20. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  21. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  22. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  23. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  24. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. current — happening now
  2. fall — to drop
  3. pitch — a sales talk
  4. ball — a round shape
  5. fall — the season
  6. ball — a dance
  7. straw — a straw man
  8. ball — a great time
  9. cold — not warm
  10. fall — to drop
  11. bore — gave birth
  12. cold — the Cold War
  13. craft — a handicraft
  14. pitch — a sports field
  15. craft — boats
  16. bore — to drill
  17. craft — a skill
  18. cold — an illness
  19. current — electric
  20. bore — to tire
  21. pitch — completely
  22. current — of water
  23. straw — dry grass
  24. straw — to clutch at straws

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