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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. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  2. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  3. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  4. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  5. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  6. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  7. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  8. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  9. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  10. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  11. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  12. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  13. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  14. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  15. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  16. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  17. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  18. When are we going to ________________?
  19. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  20. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  21. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  22. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  23. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  24. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — an injury
  2. bat — in an idiom
  3. current — electric
  4. kick — in football
  5. toast — a drink to someone
  6. kick — a thrill
  7. current — happening now
  8. bear — the animal
  9. wound — an injury
  10. toast — the most admired
  11. toast — bread
  12. current — of water
  13. bear — to put up with
  14. tear — from crying
  15. bat — the animal
  16. wound — past of 'wind'
  17. bat — for baseball
  18. land — to come down
  19. bear — the animal
  20. land — ground
  21. land — a country
  22. kick — with a leg
  23. tear — from crying
  24. tear — to rip

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