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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. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  2. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  3. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  4. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  5. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  6. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  7. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  8. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  9. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  10. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  11. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  12. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  13. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  14. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  15. He was locked up in a ________________.
  16. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  17. The ________________ went through the wall.
  18. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  19. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  20. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  21. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  22. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  23. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  24. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — to rip
  2. current — of water
  3. current — happening now
  4. cell — a phone
  5. nail — on a finger
  6. prune — to trim
  7. prune — to trim
  8. tear — from crying
  9. capital — money
  10. tear — from crying
  11. current — electric
  12. prune — the fruit
  13. capital — a city
  14. pit — a fruit stone
  15. cell — in a prison
  16. chip — in a computer
  17. nail — for a hammer
  18. cell — in biology
  19. pit — in a race
  20. chip — for betting
  21. capital — a big letter
  22. chip — to eat
  23. pit — a hole
  24. nail — for a hammer

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