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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 party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  2. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  3. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  4. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  5. False peace will not ________________.
  6. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  7. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  8. Don't do anything ________________.
  9. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  10. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  11. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  12. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  13. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  14. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  15. The ________________ went through the wall.
  16. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  17. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  18. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  19. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  20. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  21. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  22. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  23. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  24. At ________________, we arrived at the village.

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

Answer key

  1. rash — a series
  2. row — a quarrel
  3. last — final
  4. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  5. last — to go on
  6. rash — on the skin
  7. current — of water
  8. rash — hasty
  9. face — to confront
  10. current — happening now
  11. nail — for a hammer
  12. straw — to clutch at straws
  13. straw — a straw man
  14. row — a line
  15. nail — for a hammer
  16. kid — child
  17. row — to paddle
  18. nail — on a finger
  19. current — electric
  20. face — part of the head
  21. face — to point toward
  22. straw — dry grass
  23. kid — to tease
  24. last — finally

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