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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. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  2. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  3. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  4. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  5. This piece is in a major ________________.
  6. The water is too ________________.
  7. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  8. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  9. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  10. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  11. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  12. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  13. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  14. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  15. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  16. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  17. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  18. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  19. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  20. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  21. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  22. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  23. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  24. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.

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

Answer key

  1. current — of water
  2. fall — to drop
  3. fork — to eat with
  4. stick — a piece of wood
  5. key — in music
  6. cold — not warm
  7. key — the most important part
  8. stick — to attach or keep to
  9. cold — the Cold War
  10. tear — to rip
  11. fork — a garden tool
  12. tear — from crying
  13. craft — boats
  14. fall — the season
  15. key — for a lock
  16. craft — a skill
  17. current — happening now
  18. fall — to drop
  19. tear — from crying
  20. fork — in a road
  21. current — electric
  22. stick — a piece of wood
  23. cold — an illness
  24. craft — a handicraft

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