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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. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  2. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  3. Have you found your soul ________________?
  4. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  5. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  6. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  7. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  8. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  9. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  10. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  11. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  12. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  13. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  14. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  15. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  16. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  17. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  18. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  19. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  20. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  21. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  22. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  23. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  24. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. current — of water
  2. face — part of the head
  3. mate — a partner
  4. mate — a friend
  5. present — there
  6. mate — to breed
  7. can — a tin
  8. face — to confront
  9. wound — an injury
  10. current — electric
  11. spring — a coil
  12. present — the time now
  13. can — a tin
  14. current — happening now
  15. can — to be able to
  16. spring — the season
  17. present — a gift
  18. face — to point toward
  19. wound — an injury
  20. straw — to clutch at straws
  21. wound — past of 'wind'
  22. straw — a straw man
  23. spring — of water
  24. straw — dry grass

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