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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. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  2. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  3. He was locked up in a ________________.
  4. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  5. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  6. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  7. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  8. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  9. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  10. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  11. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  12. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  13. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  14. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  15. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  16. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  17. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  18. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  19. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  20. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  21. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  22. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  23. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  24. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — part of the body
  2. wake — before a funeral
  3. cell — in a prison
  4. racket — a loud noise
  5. mine — an explosive
  6. hand — in cards
  7. current — happening now
  8. squash — the vegetable
  9. wake — a trail
  10. squash — the sport
  11. straw — dry grass
  12. squash — to crush
  13. racket — for tennis
  14. straw — a straw man
  15. cell — a phone
  16. mine — for digging
  17. wake — to stop sleeping
  18. current — electric
  19. racket — for tennis
  20. current — of water
  21. mine — belonging to me
  22. cell — in biology
  23. hand — help
  24. straw — to clutch at straws

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