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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. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  2. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  3. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  4. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  5. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  6. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  7. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  8. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  9. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  10. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  11. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  12. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  13. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  14. False peace will not ________________.
  15. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  16. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  17. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  18. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  19. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  20. The ball is in your ________________.
  21. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  22. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  23. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  24. Do you need a ________________ with that?

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

Answer key

  1. hand — part of the body
  2. current — electric
  3. tear — to rip
  4. net — in sport
  5. hand — in cards
  6. present — a gift
  7. net — for catching
  8. tear — from crying
  9. present — there
  10. last — finally
  11. tear — from crying
  12. calf — of the leg
  13. last — final
  14. last — to go on
  15. current — of water
  16. court — of a king
  17. court — of law
  18. calf — a young animal
  19. calf — a young animal
  20. court — for sport
  21. present — the time now
  22. net — after costs
  23. current — happening now
  24. hand — help

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