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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. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  3. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  4. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  5. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  6. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  7. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  8. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  9. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  10. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  11. There's no middle ________________.
  12. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  13. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  14. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  15. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  16. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  17. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  18. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  19. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  20. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  21. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  22. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  23. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  24. We ________________ up on opposing sides.

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

Answer key

  1. current — of water
  2. band — a rubber band
  3. current — happening now
  4. cue — a hint
  5. band — a ring
  6. root — of a word
  7. wound — an injury
  8. root — the cause
  9. current — electric
  10. band — a music group
  11. ground — a position
  12. tear — from crying
  13. wound — an injury
  14. root — of a plant
  15. ground — the earth
  16. lie — to recline
  17. tear — from crying
  18. tear — to rip
  19. ground — crushed
  20. lie — an untruth
  21. lie — an untruth
  22. cue — for pool
  23. cue — a signal
  24. wound — past of 'wind'

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