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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. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  2. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  3. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  4. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  5. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  6. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  7. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  8. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  9. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  10. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  11. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  12. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  13. The water is too ________________.
  14. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  15. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  16. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  17. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  18. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  19. He was locked up in a ________________.
  20. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  21. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  22. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  23. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  24. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — a straw man
  2. shower — rain
  3. current — of water
  4. shower — to wash
  5. cold — an illness
  6. cell — a phone
  7. shower — a meteor shower
  8. straw — dry grass
  9. bass — the fish
  10. cell — in biology
  11. current — electric
  12. stick — a piece of wood
  13. cold — not warm
  14. current — happening now
  15. fan — to cool the air
  16. straw — to clutch at straws
  17. bass — the instrument
  18. fan — a supporter
  19. cell — in a prison
  20. bass — low music
  21. cold — the Cold War
  22. stick — to attach or keep to
  23. stick — a piece of wood
  24. fan — a supporter

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