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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. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  2. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  3. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  4. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  5. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  6. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  7. The tickets are free of ________________.
  8. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  9. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  10. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  11. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  12. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  13. David sat on the ________________.
  14. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  15. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  16. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  17. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  18. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  19. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  20. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  21. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  22. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  23. The water is too ________________.
  24. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. current — happening now
  2. prune — to trim
  3. prune — to trim
  4. craft — a handicraft
  5. swing — in golf
  6. charge — electricity
  7. charge — a price
  8. straw — a straw man
  9. current — electric
  10. wake — to stop sleeping
  11. charge — in control
  12. current — of water
  13. swing — to play on
  14. wake — before a funeral
  15. cold — the Cold War
  16. cold — an illness
  17. prune — the fruit
  18. craft — a skill
  19. craft — boats
  20. straw — dry grass
  21. wake — a trail
  22. swing — music
  23. cold — not warm
  24. straw — to clutch at straws

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