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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. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  3. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  4. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  5. I'll be taking the ________________.
  6. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  7. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  8. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  9. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  10. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  11. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  12. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  13. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  14. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  15. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  16. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  17. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  18. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  19. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  20. He is an ace ________________.
  21. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  22. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  23. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  24. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.

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

Answer key

  1. current — of water
  2. pitcher — a jug
  3. pitcher — a jug
  4. tear — to rip
  5. tube — the underground
  6. row — a quarrel
  7. row — to paddle
  8. tear — from crying
  9. tear — from crying
  10. rule — government
  11. mouse — the animal
  12. field — farmland
  13. mouse — for a computer
  14. current — happening now
  15. mouse — the animal
  16. tube — in a tire
  17. rule — to rule out
  18. tube — a container
  19. field — for sport
  20. pitcher — in baseball
  21. current — electric
  22. rule — a law
  23. field — a subject
  24. row — a line

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