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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. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  2. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  3. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  4. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  5. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  6. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  7. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  8. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  9. What do you think of the new ________________?
  10. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  11. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  12. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  13. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  14. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  15. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  16. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  17. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  18. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  19. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  20. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  21. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  22. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  23. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  24. 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. wake — to stop sleeping
  2. chest — a box
  3. cabinet — a cupboard
  4. current — happening now
  5. foot — part of the body
  6. foot — the bottom
  7. chest — of your body
  8. net — after costs
  9. cabinet — ministers
  10. wake — a trail
  11. bear — the animal
  12. current — electric
  13. tear — to rip
  14. wake — before a funeral
  15. net — for catching
  16. bear — the animal
  17. current — of water
  18. tear — from crying
  19. cabinet — ministers
  20. bear — to put up with
  21. chest — of your body
  22. net — in sport
  23. foot — a measure
  24. 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