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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. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  2. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  3. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  4. He works in a ________________ mill.
  5. She's very handy with a ________________.
  6. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  7. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  8. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  9. It's one o'clock ________________.
  10. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  11. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  12. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  13. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  14. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  15. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  16. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  17. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  18. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  19. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  20. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  21. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  22. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  23. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  24. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a rubber band
  2. saw — past of 'see'
  3. spring — the season
  4. saw — the tool
  5. saw — the tool
  6. current — electric
  7. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  8. sharp — with an edge
  9. sharp — exactly
  10. spring — a coil
  11. net — in sport
  12. straw — to clutch at straws
  13. band — a music group
  14. spring — of water
  15. straw — dry grass
  16. band — a ring
  17. net — after costs
  18. straw — a straw man
  19. current — of water
  20. kid — to tease
  21. sharp — clever
  22. current — happening now
  23. net — for catching
  24. kid — child

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