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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. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  2. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  3. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  4. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  5. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  6. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  7. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  8. I can't ________________ this cold.
  9. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  10. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  11. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  12. Have you met the new head ________________?
  13. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  14. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  15. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  16. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  17. David sat on the ________________.
  18. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  19. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  20. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  21. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  22. It's one o'clock ________________.
  23. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  24. Let us try to swim against the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. coach — pulled by horses
  2. tear — from crying
  3. kid — to tease
  4. tear — from crying
  5. swing — music
  6. sharp — clever
  7. object — an aim
  8. stand — to bear
  9. tear — to rip
  10. current — happening now
  11. sharp — with an edge
  12. coach — a trainer
  13. object — to protest
  14. swing — in golf
  15. current — electric
  16. stand — for spectators
  17. swing — to play on
  18. object — a thing
  19. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  20. stand — on your feet
  21. coach — a trainer
  22. sharp — exactly
  23. kid — child
  24. current — of water

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