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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. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  2. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  3. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  4. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  5. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  6. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  7. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  8. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  9. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  10. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  11. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  12. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  13. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  14. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  15. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  16. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  17. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  18. I can't ________________ this cold.
  19. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  20. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  21. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  22. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  23. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  24. We're on a ________________ here.

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

Answer key

  1. row — a quarrel
  2. wind — moving air
  3. fan — a supporter
  4. wind — to turn a key
  5. stand — for spectators
  6. fan — a supporter
  7. wind — moving air
  8. jam — a tight spot
  9. roll — a cake
  10. straw — to clutch at straws
  11. current — of water
  12. row — to paddle
  13. straw — dry grass
  14. straw — a straw man
  15. row — a line
  16. roll — a list
  17. current — happening now
  18. stand — to bear
  19. jam — to spread on bread
  20. stand — on your feet
  21. fan — to cool the air
  22. current — electric
  23. jam — in traffic
  24. roll — on a roll

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