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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 hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  2. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  3. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  4. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  5. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  6. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  7. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  8. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  9. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  10. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  11. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  12. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  13. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  14. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  15. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  16. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  17. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  18. Let us try to swim against the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mark — a trace
  2. current — happening now
  3. cap — of ice
  4. dip — to sink
  5. current — electric
  6. chest — of your body
  7. mark — to pay attention
  8. mark — a grade
  9. chest — of your body
  10. dip — to dunk
  11. dip — a sauce
  12. cap — a hat
  13. tear — from crying
  14. chest — a box
  15. tear — to rip
  16. tear — from crying
  17. cap — a lid
  18. current — of water

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