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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. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  3. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  4. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  5. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  6. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  7. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  8. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  9. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  10. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  11. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  12. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  13. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  14. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  15. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  16. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  17. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  18. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  19. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  20. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  21. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  22. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  23. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  24. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.

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

Answer key

  1. current — of water
  2. snap — to snap out of it
  3. current — electric
  4. kick — in football
  5. file — a document
  6. fall — the season
  7. bass — the instrument
  8. bass — low music
  9. bass — the fish
  10. lash — an eyelash
  11. file — a tool
  12. current — happening now
  13. file — a line of people
  14. straw — dry grass
  15. lash — a whip stroke
  16. straw — to clutch at straws
  17. snap — to speak sharply
  18. lash — to lash out
  19. fall — to drop
  20. kick — a thrill
  21. kick — with a leg
  22. fall — to drop
  23. straw — a straw man
  24. snap — to click

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