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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 from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: cell · current · straw · tear · object · present

  1. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  2. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  3. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  4. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  5. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  6. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  7. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  8. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  9. He was locked up in a ________________.
  10. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  11. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  12. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  13. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  14. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  15. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  16. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  17. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  18. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.

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

Answer key

  1. present — a gift
  2. object — a thing
  3. object — an aim
  4. straw — dry grass
  5. tear — from crying
  6. tear — from crying
  7. present — the time now
  8. tear — to rip
  9. cell — in a prison
  10. current — electric
  11. cell — a phone
  12. straw — to clutch at straws
  13. present — there
  14. current — happening now
  15. object — to protest
  16. current — of water
  17. straw — a straw man
  18. cell — in biology

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