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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. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  2. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  3. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  4. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  5. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  6. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  7. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  8. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  9. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  10. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  11. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  12. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  13. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  14. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  15. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  16. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  17. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  18. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  19. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  20. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  21. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  22. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  23. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  24. Let us try to swim against the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  2. current — happening now
  3. wound — past of 'wind'
  4. dip — a sauce
  5. trunk — of an elephant
  6. dip — to sink
  7. tear — to rip
  8. can — a tin
  9. current — electric
  10. trunk — of a tree
  11. kid — child
  12. wound — an injury
  13. kid — to tease
  14. can — a tin
  15. trunk — of a car
  16. tear — from crying
  17. dip — to dunk
  18. mine — an explosive
  19. mine — belonging to me
  20. mine — for digging
  21. tear — from crying
  22. can — to be able to
  23. wound — an injury
  24. current — of water

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