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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. What do you think of the new ________________?
  2. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  3. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  4. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  5. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  6. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  7. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  8. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  9. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  10. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  11. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  12. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  13. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  14. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  15. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  16. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  17. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  18. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  19. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  20. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  21. Don't do anything ________________.
  22. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  23. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  24. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.

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

Answer key

  1. cabinet — ministers
  2. wave — of the sea
  3. lean — thin
  4. chest — of your body
  5. wave — a sudden rise
  6. rash — a series
  7. current — happening now
  8. tear — from crying
  9. capital — money
  10. tear — to rip
  11. lean — to bend
  12. chest — of your body
  13. capital — a big letter
  14. cabinet — a cupboard
  15. tear — from crying
  16. capital — a city
  17. wave — with your hand
  18. current — electric
  19. rash — on the skin
  20. current — of water
  21. rash — hasty
  22. lean — to rest against
  23. cabinet — ministers
  24. chest — a box

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