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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. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  2. Have you found your soul ________________?
  3. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  4. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  5. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  6. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  7. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  8. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  9. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  10. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  11. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  12. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  13. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  14. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  15. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  16. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  17. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  18. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  19. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  20. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  21. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  22. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  23. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  24. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.

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

Answer key

  1. current — of water
  2. mate — a partner
  3. lash — to lash out
  4. perch — the fish
  5. lash — an eyelash
  6. mate — to breed
  7. mine — an explosive
  8. mate — a friend
  9. mine — belonging to me
  10. chest — of your body
  11. chest — of your body
  12. perch — for a bird
  13. current — happening now
  14. hand — in cards
  15. lash — a whip stroke
  16. perch — for a bird
  17. mark — a grade
  18. mark — a trace
  19. chest — a box
  20. hand — part of the body
  21. hand — help
  22. mine — for digging
  23. current — electric
  24. mark — to pay attention

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