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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. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  2. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  3. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  4. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  5. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  6. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  7. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  8. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  9. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  10. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  11. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  12. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  13. That was a fun ________________.
  14. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  15. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  16. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  17. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  18. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  19. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  20. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  21. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  22. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  23. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  24. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.

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

Answer key

  1. current — electric
  2. dip — to sink
  3. content — happy
  4. present — a gift
  5. present — there
  6. calf — a young animal
  7. game — wild animals
  8. calf — a young animal
  9. current — happening now
  10. dip — to dunk
  11. content — the amount
  12. calf — of the leg
  13. game — a match
  14. present — the time now
  15. game — a kind of play
  16. fall — the season
  17. current — of water
  18. straw — a straw man
  19. straw — dry grass
  20. content — videos and posts
  21. straw — to clutch at straws
  22. dip — a sauce
  23. fall — to drop
  24. fall — to drop

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