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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. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  2. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  3. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  4. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  5. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  6. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  7. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  8. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  9. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  10. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  11. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  12. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  13. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  14. What do you think of the new ________________?
  15. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  16. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  17. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  18. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  19. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  20. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  21. The water is too ________________.
  22. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  23. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  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. kid — to tease
  2. current — of water
  3. hide — animal skin
  4. current — happening now
  5. tear — from crying
  6. hide — to keep secret
  7. wave — a sudden rise
  8. stick — a piece of wood
  9. wave — of the sea
  10. current — electric
  11. kid — child
  12. cabinet — ministers
  13. tear — to rip
  14. cabinet — ministers
  15. cold — the Cold War
  16. cabinet — a cupboard
  17. stick — a piece of wood
  18. wave — with your hand
  19. hide — to keep secret
  20. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  21. cold — not warm
  22. stick — to attach or keep to
  23. cold — an illness
  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