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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. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  2. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  3. It's one o'clock ________________.
  4. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  5. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  6. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  7. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  8. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  9. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  10. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  11. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  12. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  13. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  14. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  15. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  16. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  17. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  18. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  19. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  20. My father caught me by the ________________.
  21. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  22. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  23. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  24. He hit the ball with his ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — a coil
  2. current — electric
  3. sharp — exactly
  4. wake — before a funeral
  5. current — of water
  6. sharp — with an edge
  7. spring — of water
  8. wake — a trail
  9. hand — help
  10. spring — the season
  11. wake — to stop sleeping
  12. shower — to wash
  13. arm — part of the body
  14. racket — a loud noise
  15. shower — a meteor shower
  16. current — happening now
  17. hand — part of the body
  18. sharp — clever
  19. shower — rain
  20. arm — part of the body
  21. racket — for tennis
  22. arm — a part of something
  23. hand — in cards
  24. racket — for tennis

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