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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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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. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  2. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  3. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  4. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  5. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  6. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  7. The water is too ________________.
  8. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  9. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  10. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  11. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  12. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  13. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  14. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  15. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  16. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  17. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  18. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  19. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  20. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  21. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  22. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  23. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  24. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.

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

Answer key

  1. current — of water
  2. snap — to click
  3. snap — to snap out of it
  4. tear — to rip
  5. deal — an agreement
  6. jam — a tight spot
  7. cold — not warm
  8. cold — an illness
  9. cold — the Cold War
  10. current — electric
  11. tear — from crying
  12. mine — an explosive
  13. snap — to speak sharply
  14. bowl — a football final
  15. jam — to spread on bread
  16. deal — a big deal
  17. bowl — to roll
  18. mine — for digging
  19. current — happening now
  20. bowl — a dish
  21. deal — to handle
  22. jam — in traffic
  23. tear — from crying
  24. mine — belonging to me

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