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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. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  2. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  3. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  4. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  5. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  6. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  7. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  8. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  9. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  10. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  11. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  12. The water is too ________________.
  13. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  14. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  15. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  16. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  17. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  18. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  19. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  20. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  21. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  22. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  23. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  24. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.

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

Answer key

  1. bark — to shout
  2. current — electric
  3. tear — to rip
  4. cold — the Cold War
  5. wave — with your hand
  6. bark — a dog's sound
  7. bark — of a tree
  8. current — of water
  9. shower — to wash
  10. tear — from crying
  11. shower — rain
  12. cold — not warm
  13. rest — what's left
  14. mark — a grade
  15. wave — a sudden rise
  16. tear — from crying
  17. mark — to pay attention
  18. wave — of the sea
  19. mark — a trace
  20. rest — a break
  21. cold — an illness
  22. shower — a meteor shower
  23. rest — what's left
  24. current — happening now

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