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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. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  2. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  3. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  4. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  5. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  6. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  7. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  8. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  9. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  10. False peace will not ________________.
  11. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  12. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  13. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  14. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  15. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  16. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  17. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  18. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  19. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  20. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  21. That was a fun ________________.
  22. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  23. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  24. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — dry grass
  2. wound — an injury
  3. game — a kind of play
  4. last — finally
  5. file — a tool
  6. file — a line of people
  7. bank — of a river
  8. content — videos and posts
  9. bank — for money
  10. last — to go on
  11. file — a document
  12. straw — to clutch at straws
  13. bank — for money
  14. content — happy
  15. current — of water
  16. game — wild animals
  17. last — final
  18. content — the amount
  19. wound — past of 'wind'
  20. current — electric
  21. game — a match
  22. wound — an injury
  23. current — happening now
  24. straw — a straw man

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