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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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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: straw · spring · bat · safe · nail · current · date · content

  1. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  2. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  3. The ________________ went through the wall.
  4. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  5. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  6. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  7. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  8. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  9. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  10. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  11. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  12. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  13. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  14. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  15. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  16. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  17. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  18. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  19. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  20. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  21. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  22. Have you settled on a ________________?
  23. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  24. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — to clutch at straws
  2. content — happy
  3. nail — for a hammer
  4. nail — on a finger
  5. safe — out of danger
  6. date — on the calendar
  7. safe — a strongbox
  8. spring — of water
  9. date — the fruit
  10. nail — for a hammer
  11. current — of water
  12. content — videos and posts
  13. bat — in an idiom
  14. content — the amount
  15. bat — for baseball
  16. current — happening now
  17. straw — dry grass
  18. spring — the season
  19. spring — a coil
  20. safe — out of danger
  21. bat — the animal
  22. date — on the calendar
  23. current — electric
  24. straw — a straw man

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