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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. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  2. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  3. There's no middle ________________.
  4. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  5. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  6. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  7. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  8. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  9. My father caught me by the ________________.
  10. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  11. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  12. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  13. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  14. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  15. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  16. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  17. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  18. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  19. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  20. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  21. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  22. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  23. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  24. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — to wash
  2. ground — the earth
  3. ground — a position
  4. ground — crushed
  5. craft — a skill
  6. current — happening now
  7. drill — a practice
  8. current — of water
  9. arm — part of the body
  10. straw — a straw man
  11. craft — a handicraft
  12. stick — to attach or keep to
  13. craft — boats
  14. arm — a part of something
  15. straw — to clutch at straws
  16. straw — dry grass
  17. drill — the tool
  18. shower — rain
  19. shower — a meteor shower
  20. arm — part of the body
  21. current — electric
  22. stick — a piece of wood
  23. drill — army training
  24. stick — a piece of wood

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