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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. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  2. The water is too ________________.
  3. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  4. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  5. What do you think of the new ________________?
  6. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  7. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  8. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  9. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  10. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  11. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  12. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  13. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  14. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  15. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  16. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  17. He works in a ________________ mill.
  18. Did you ________________ the meat?
  19. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  20. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  21. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  22. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  23. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  24. She's very handy with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. current — of water
  2. cold — not warm
  3. cabinet — a cupboard
  4. mine — for digging
  5. cabinet — ministers
  6. current — happening now
  7. straw — dry grass
  8. season — in sport
  9. cold — an illness
  10. season — of the year
  11. cold — the Cold War
  12. mine — an explosive
  13. mine — belonging to me
  14. cabinet — ministers
  15. straw — to clutch at straws
  16. current — electric
  17. saw — the tool
  18. season — to add flavour
  19. straw — a straw man
  20. saw — past of 'see'
  21. rule — a law
  22. rule — government
  23. rule — to rule out
  24. saw — the tool

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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