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

Word bank: kid · mine · snap · pop · cap · current · straw · key

  1. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  2. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  3. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  4. We're almost out of ________________.
  5. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  6. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  7. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  8. This piece is in a major ________________.
  9. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  10. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  11. You don't need to ________________ round.
  12. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  13. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  14. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  15. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  16. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  17. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  18. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  19. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  20. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  21. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  22. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  23. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  24. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?

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

Answer key

  1. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  2. straw — to clutch at straws
  3. kid — child
  4. pop — soda
  5. current — electric
  6. cap — a hat
  7. pop — music
  8. key — in music
  9. cap — of ice
  10. key — the most important part
  11. pop — to visit
  12. mine — for digging
  13. key — for a lock
  14. snap — to click
  15. mine — belonging to me
  16. kid — to tease
  17. current — of water
  18. current — happening now
  19. straw — a straw man
  20. snap — to speak sharply
  21. snap — to snap out of it
  22. mine — an explosive
  23. straw — dry grass
  24. cap — a lid

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