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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. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  2. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  3. He is an ace ________________.
  4. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  5. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  6. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  7. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  8. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  9. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  10. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  11. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  12. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  13. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  14. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  15. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  16. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  17. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  18. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  19. There's no middle ________________.
  20. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  21. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  22. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  23. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  24. I got dealt a bad ________________.

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. pitcher — in baseball
  4. pitcher — a jug
  5. rule — a law
  6. cue — a signal
  7. tear — to rip
  8. cue — a hint
  9. tear — from crying
  10. scale — for weighing
  11. hand — help
  12. current — of water
  13. scale — size or range
  14. current — happening now
  15. hand — part of the body
  16. rule — to rule out
  17. ground — the earth
  18. rule — government
  19. ground — a position
  20. pitcher — a jug
  21. ground — crushed
  22. cue — for pool
  23. scale — in music
  24. hand — in cards

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