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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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Word bank
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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: clip · hide · straw · cabinet · club · pitcher · race · current

  1. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  2. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  3. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  4. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  5. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  6. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  7. What do you think of the new ________________?
  8. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  9. He is an ace ________________.
  10. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  11. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  12. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  13. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  14. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  15. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  16. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  17. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  18. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  19. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  20. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  21. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  22. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  23. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  24. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — a jug
  2. current — electric
  3. hide — to keep secret
  4. club — for dancing
  5. pitcher — a jug
  6. hide — to keep secret
  7. cabinet — ministers
  8. straw — dry grass
  9. pitcher — in baseball
  10. clip — to cut
  11. race — the arms race
  12. clip — a video
  13. race — a contest
  14. cabinet — a cupboard
  15. race — humankind
  16. straw — a straw man
  17. club — a group
  18. clip — for paper
  19. current — of water
  20. straw — to clutch at straws
  21. hide — animal skin
  22. current — happening now
  23. cabinet — ministers
  24. club — for golf

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