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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. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  2. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  3. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  4. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  5. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  6. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  7. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  8. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  9. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  10. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  11. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  12. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  13. He works in a ________________ mill.
  14. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  15. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  16. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  17. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  18. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  19. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  20. She's very handy with a ________________.
  21. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  22. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  23. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  24. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — dry grass
  2. shower — to wash
  3. branch — of a bank
  4. current — electric
  5. saw — past of 'see'
  6. current — of water
  7. lash — to lash out
  8. degree — temperature
  9. straw — to clutch at straws
  10. degree — an amount
  11. lash — an eyelash
  12. branch — a division
  13. saw — the tool
  14. wake — before a funeral
  15. branch — of a tree
  16. current — happening now
  17. degree — from a university
  18. lash — a whip stroke
  19. wake — a trail
  20. saw — the tool
  21. straw — a straw man
  22. wake — to stop sleeping
  23. shower — rain
  24. shower — a meteor shower

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