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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 120 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. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  3. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  4. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  5. I can't ________________ this cold.
  6. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  7. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  8. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  9. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  10. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  11. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  12. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  13. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  14. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  15. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  16. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  17. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  18. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  19. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  20. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  21. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  22. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  23. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  24. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.

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

Answer key

  1. current — of water
  2. present — there
  3. wound — past of 'wind'
  4. stand — for spectators
  5. stand — to bear
  6. trunk — of a tree
  7. trunk — of a car
  8. degree — from a university
  9. trunk — of an elephant
  10. degree — temperature
  11. wound — an injury
  12. present — the time now
  13. chest — of your body
  14. degree — an amount
  15. tear — to rip
  16. wound — an injury
  17. chest — of your body
  18. present — a gift
  19. chest — a box
  20. current — electric
  21. tear — from crying
  22. stand — on your feet
  23. current — happening now
  24. tear — from crying

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