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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 goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  2. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  3. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  4. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  5. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  6. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  7. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  8. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  9. That was a fun ________________.
  10. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  11. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  12. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  13. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  14. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  15. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  16. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  17. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  18. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  19. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  20. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  21. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  22. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  23. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  24. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — dry grass
  2. stick — a piece of wood
  3. current — electric
  4. current — happening now
  5. stick — to attach or keep to
  6. current — of water
  7. snap — to snap out of it
  8. snap — to click
  9. game — a match
  10. game — wild animals
  11. straw — to clutch at straws
  12. clip — a video
  13. clip — for paper
  14. clip — to cut
  15. tear — from crying
  16. mouse — the animal
  17. game — a kind of play
  18. mouse — the animal
  19. tear — to rip
  20. stick — a piece of wood
  21. snap — to speak sharply
  22. straw — a straw man
  23. mouse — for a computer
  24. tear — from crying

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