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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 116 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. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  2. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  3. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  4. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  5. He was locked up in a ________________.
  6. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  7. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  8. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  9. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  10. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  11. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  12. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  13. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  14. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  15. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  16. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  17. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  18. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  19. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  20. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  21. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  22. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  23. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  24. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.

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

Answer key

  1. lean — thin
  2. bat — in an idiom
  3. current — of water
  4. degree — temperature
  5. cell — in a prison
  6. cell — a phone
  7. current — happening now
  8. lean — to rest against
  9. row — to paddle
  10. tear — to rip
  11. cell — in biology
  12. stick — a piece of wood
  13. degree — an amount
  14. tear — from crying
  15. bat — the animal
  16. row — a quarrel
  17. stick — a piece of wood
  18. row — a line
  19. degree — from a university
  20. current — electric
  21. bat — for baseball
  22. tear — from crying
  23. stick — to attach or keep to
  24. lean — to bend

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