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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. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  2. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  3. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  4. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  5. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  6. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  7. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  8. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  9. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  10. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  11. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  12. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  13. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  14. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  15. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  16. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  17. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  18. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  19. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  20. It's one o'clock ________________.
  21. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  22. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  23. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  24. This knife is not ________________ enough.

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

Answer key

  1. current — electric
  2. mark — a trace
  3. sharp — clever
  4. tear — from crying
  5. hand — part of the body
  6. straw — to clutch at straws
  7. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  8. tear — from crying
  9. tear — to rip
  10. row — to paddle
  11. mark — to pay attention
  12. kid — child
  13. hand — in cards
  14. row — a quarrel
  15. hand — help
  16. current — happening now
  17. kid — to tease
  18. mark — a grade
  19. row — a line
  20. sharp — exactly
  21. straw — dry grass
  22. current — of water
  23. straw — a straw man
  24. sharp — with an edge

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