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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 120 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 ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  2. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  3. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  4. That was a fun ________________.
  5. How do you ________________ your surname?
  6. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  7. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  8. False peace will not ________________.
  9. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  10. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  11. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  12. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  13. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  14. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  15. He is an ace ________________.
  16. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  17. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  18. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  19. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  20. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  21. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  22. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  23. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  24. Fill up this ________________ with water.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — a jug
  2. straw — a straw man
  3. straw — to clutch at straws
  4. game — a match
  5. spell — letters
  6. straw — dry grass
  7. content — videos and posts
  8. last — to go on
  9. spell — a short time
  10. content — happy
  11. game — wild animals
  12. last — finally
  13. current — electric
  14. wave — a sudden rise
  15. pitcher — in baseball
  16. last — final
  17. content — the amount
  18. wave — of the sea
  19. current — of water
  20. current — happening now
  21. wave — with your hand
  22. game — a kind of play
  23. spell — magic
  24. pitcher — a jug

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