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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. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  2. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  3. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  4. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  5. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  6. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  7. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  8. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  9. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  10. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  11. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  12. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  13. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  14. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  15. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  16. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  17. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  18. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  19. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  20. Don't do anything ________________.
  21. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  22. That must've been a ________________.
  23. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  24. I seem to be developing a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — belonging to me
  2. face — part of the head
  3. file — a tool
  4. rush — hurry
  5. mine — for digging
  6. current — of water
  7. mine — an explosive
  8. current — electric
  9. face — to confront
  10. current — happening now
  11. straw — dry grass
  12. face — to point toward
  13. craft — a handicraft
  14. straw — to clutch at straws
  15. craft — boats
  16. craft — a skill
  17. straw — a straw man
  18. rush — to hurry
  19. file — a document
  20. rash — hasty
  21. file — a line of people
  22. rush — a thrill
  23. rash — a series
  24. rash — on the skin

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