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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 felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  2. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  3. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  4. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  5. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  6. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  7. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  8. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  9. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  10. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  11. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  12. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  13. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  14. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  15. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  16. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  17. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  18. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  19. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  20. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  21. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  22. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  23. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  24. We were using a ________________ as a seat.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — of your body
  2. current — electric
  3. leaves — to go away
  4. tear — from crying
  5. lash — to lash out
  6. tear — to rip
  7. chest — of your body
  8. current — of water
  9. drill — army training
  10. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  11. lash — a whip stroke
  12. leaves — of a tree
  13. chest — a box
  14. rock — to move gently
  15. kid — child
  16. rock — music
  17. leaves — lets stay
  18. tear — from crying
  19. drill — a practice
  20. lash — an eyelash
  21. drill — the tool
  22. current — happening now
  23. kid — to tease
  24. rock — a stone

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