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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. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  2. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  3. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  4. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  5. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  6. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  7. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  8. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  9. It's one o'clock ________________.
  10. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  11. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  12. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  13. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  14. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  15. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  16. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  17. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  18. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  19. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  20. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  21. He is an ace ________________.
  22. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  23. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  24. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.

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

Answer key

  1. current — of water
  2. pitcher — a jug
  3. current — happening now
  4. current — electric
  5. present — a gift
  6. present — the time now
  7. tear — from crying
  8. sharp — clever
  9. sharp — exactly
  10. trunk — of an elephant
  11. face — to confront
  12. tear — from crying
  13. bat — the animal
  14. pitcher — a jug
  15. present — there
  16. trunk — of a car
  17. trunk — of a tree
  18. sharp — with an edge
  19. face — to point toward
  20. bat — in an idiom
  21. pitcher — in baseball
  22. face — part of the head
  23. tear — to rip
  24. bat — for baseball

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