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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. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  2. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  3. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  4. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  5. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  6. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  7. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  8. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  9. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  10. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  11. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  12. There's no middle ________________.
  13. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  14. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  15. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  16. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  17. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  18. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  19. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  20. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  21. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  22. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  23. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  24. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. deal — to handle
  3. spring — of water
  4. wind — moving air
  5. spring — the season
  6. chest — a box
  7. tear — from crying
  8. current — of water
  9. wind — moving air
  10. chest — of your body
  11. calf — of the leg
  12. ground — a position
  13. chest — of your body
  14. deal — a big deal
  15. ground — crushed
  16. spring — a coil
  17. tear — to rip
  18. current — happening now
  19. ground — the earth
  20. current — electric
  21. wind — to turn a key
  22. calf — a young animal
  23. deal — an agreement
  24. calf — a young animal

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