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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. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  2. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  3. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  4. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  5. The water is too ________________.
  6. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  7. That was ________________ to happen.
  8. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  9. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  10. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  11. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  12. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  13. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  14. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  15. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  16. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  17. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  18. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  19. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  20. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  21. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  22. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  23. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  24. He is an ace ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bear — the animal
  2. bound — obliged
  3. current — electric
  4. pitcher — a jug
  5. cold — not warm
  6. cold — the Cold War
  7. bound — certain
  8. current — of water
  9. current — happening now
  10. tear — to rip
  11. bear — the animal
  12. lean — thin
  13. bear — to put up with
  14. bound — tied together
  15. tear — from crying
  16. lean — to bend
  17. tear — from crying
  18. pitcher — a jug
  19. capital — money
  20. capital — a big letter
  21. capital — a city
  22. cold — an illness
  23. lean — to rest against
  24. pitcher — in baseball

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