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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. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  2. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  3. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  4. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  5. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  6. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  7. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  8. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  9. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  10. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  11. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  12. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  13. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  14. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  15. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  16. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  17. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  18. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  19. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  20. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  21. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  22. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  23. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  24. Many English words ________________ from Latin.

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

Answer key

  1. drill — army training
  2. straw — dry grass
  3. wind — moving air
  4. cap — a lid
  5. wind — moving air
  6. straw — to clutch at straws
  7. stem — of a plant
  8. cap — of ice
  9. wind — to turn a key
  10. current — of water
  11. pound — to hit hard
  12. stem — a stem cell
  13. current — electric
  14. drill — the tool
  15. straw — a straw man
  16. wound — an injury
  17. wound — past of 'wind'
  18. wound — an injury
  19. cap — a hat
  20. pound — a weight
  21. current — happening now
  22. pound — for dogs
  23. drill — a practice
  24. stem — to come from

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