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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. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  2. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  3. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  4. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  5. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  6. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  7. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  8. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  9. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  10. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  11. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  12. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  13. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  14. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  15. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  16. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  17. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  18. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  19. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  20. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  21. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  22. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  23. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  24. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.

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

Answer key

  1. current — electric
  2. tear — from crying
  3. staff — a stick
  4. staff — employees
  5. field — a subject
  6. snap — to speak sharply
  7. snap — to click
  8. field — for sport
  9. dip — to sink
  10. firm — steady
  11. snap — to snap out of it
  12. object — to protest
  13. current — happening now
  14. firm — decided
  15. firm — a company
  16. staff — employees
  17. object — a thing
  18. field — farmland
  19. dip — to dunk
  20. dip — a sauce
  21. object — an aim
  22. current — of water
  23. tear — to rip
  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