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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 120 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. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  2. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  3. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  4. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  5. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  6. It's one o'clock ________________.
  7. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  8. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  9. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  10. That must've been a ________________.
  11. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  12. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  13. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  14. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  15. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  16. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  17. I'll be taking the ________________.
  18. False peace will not ________________.
  19. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  20. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  21. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  22. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  23. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  24. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!

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

Answer key

  1. kid — to tease
  2. rush — hurry
  3. branch — of a tree
  4. current — of water
  5. sharp — with an edge
  6. sharp — exactly
  7. sharp — clever
  8. straw — to clutch at straws
  9. current — electric
  10. rush — a thrill
  11. tube — a container
  12. straw — a straw man
  13. tube — in a tire
  14. current — happening now
  15. rush — to hurry
  16. kid — child
  17. tube — the underground
  18. last — to go on
  19. branch — of a bank
  20. last — finally
  21. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  22. branch — a division
  23. straw — dry grass
  24. last — final

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