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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. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  2. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  3. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  4. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  5. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  6. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  7. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  8. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  9. That must've been a ________________.
  10. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  11. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  12. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  13. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  14. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  15. This piece is in a major ________________.
  16. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  17. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  18. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  19. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  20. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  21. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  22. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  23. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  24. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.

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

Answer key

  1. rush — hurry
  2. current — of water
  3. drill — army training
  4. pound — for dogs
  5. wind — moving air
  6. pound — to hit hard
  7. key — the most important part
  8. straw — a straw man
  9. rush — a thrill
  10. present — a gift
  11. straw — to clutch at straws
  12. straw — dry grass
  13. pound — a weight
  14. current — happening now
  15. key — in music
  16. rush — to hurry
  17. drill — the tool
  18. present — the time now
  19. wind — moving air
  20. key — for a lock
  21. drill — a practice
  22. current — electric
  23. wind — to turn a key
  24. present — there

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