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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 124 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. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  3. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  4. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  5. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  6. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  7. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  8. The ________________ took off on time.
  9. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  10. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  11. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  12. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  13. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  14. When are we going to ________________?
  15. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  16. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  17. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  18. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  19. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  20. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  21. That was a fun ________________.
  22. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  23. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  24. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.

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

Answer key

  1. current — of water
  2. straw — dry grass
  3. dip — a sauce
  4. game — a kind of play
  5. land — a country
  6. straw — to clutch at straws
  7. game — wild animals
  8. plane — an aircraft
  9. current — electric
  10. row — a quarrel
  11. calf — a young animal
  12. calf — a young animal
  13. row — a line
  14. land — to come down
  15. plane — in geometry
  16. current — happening now
  17. dip — to dunk
  18. land — ground
  19. row — to paddle
  20. dip — to sink
  21. game — a match
  22. calf — of the leg
  23. plane — a tool
  24. straw — a straw man

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