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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. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  2. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  3. David sat on the ________________.
  4. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  5. Don't do anything ________________.
  6. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  7. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  8. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  9. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  10. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  11. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  12. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  13. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  14. The water is too ________________.
  15. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  16. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  17. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  18. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  19. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  20. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  21. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  22. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  23. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  24. Let us try to swim against the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — an illness
  2. bank — for money
  3. swing — to play on
  4. fall — the season
  5. rash — hasty
  6. rash — on the skin
  7. bank — for money
  8. cold — the Cold War
  9. tear — from crying
  10. fall — to drop
  11. swing — music
  12. swing — in golf
  13. lie — an untruth
  14. cold — not warm
  15. tear — from crying
  16. bank — of a river
  17. lie — an untruth
  18. lie — to recline
  19. current — happening now
  20. rash — a series
  21. fall — to drop
  22. current — electric
  23. tear — to rip
  24. current — of water

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