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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 120 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. That was a fun ________________.
  2. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  3. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  4. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  5. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  6. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  7. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  8. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  9. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  10. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  11. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  12. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  13. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  14. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  15. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  16. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  17. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  18. What do you think of the new ________________?
  19. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  20. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  21. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  22. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  23. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  24. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.

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

Answer key

  1. game — a match
  2. game — wild animals
  3. straw — to clutch at straws
  4. shower — rain
  5. cabinet — ministers
  6. wind — moving air
  7. cabinet — a cupboard
  8. shower — to wash
  9. field — a subject
  10. lie — an untruth
  11. current — happening now
  12. wind — moving air
  13. current — electric
  14. field — farmland
  15. wind — to turn a key
  16. field — for sport
  17. lie — to recline
  18. cabinet — ministers
  19. straw — a straw man
  20. straw — dry grass
  21. current — of water
  22. lie — an untruth
  23. shower — a meteor shower
  24. game — a kind of play

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