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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 water is too ________________.
  2. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  3. The ________________ went through the wall.
  4. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  5. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  6. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  7. When was this ________________ built?
  8. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  9. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  10. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  11. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  12. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  13. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  14. My father caught me by the ________________.
  15. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  16. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  17. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  18. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — not warm
  2. temple — side of the head
  3. nail — for a hammer
  4. arm — part of the body
  5. current — of water
  6. nail — on a finger
  7. temple — a place of worship
  8. tear — to rip
  9. current — happening now
  10. arm — a part of something
  11. current — electric
  12. tear — from crying
  13. temple — a place of worship
  14. arm — part of the body
  15. cold — the Cold War
  16. nail — for a hammer
  17. cold — an illness
  18. tear — from crying

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