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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. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  2. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  3. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  4. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  5. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  6. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  7. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  8. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  9. The ________________ took off on time.
  10. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  11. I'll be taking the ________________.
  12. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  13. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  14. The water is too ________________.
  15. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  16. David sat on the ________________.
  17. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  18. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  19. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  20. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  21. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  22. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  23. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  24. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. swing — music
  3. current — of water
  4. cold — the Cold War
  5. chair — a professorship
  6. current — happening now
  7. current — electric
  8. cold — an illness
  9. plane — an aircraft
  10. plane — in geometry
  11. tube — the underground
  12. tear — to rip
  13. tube — a container
  14. cold — not warm
  15. swing — in golf
  16. swing — to play on
  17. racket — for tennis
  18. chair — a leader
  19. tear — from crying
  20. racket — for tennis
  21. chair — to sit on
  22. plane — a tool
  23. racket — a loud noise
  24. tube — in a tire

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