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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. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  2. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  3. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  4. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  5. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  6. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  7. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  8. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  9. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  10. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  11. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  12. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  13. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  14. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  15. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  16. Have you settled on a ________________?
  17. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  18. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  19. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  20. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  21. He is an ace ________________.
  22. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  23. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  24. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.

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

Answer key

  1. date — on the calendar
  2. hide — to keep secret
  3. tear — from crying
  4. snap — to speak sharply
  5. pound — to hit hard
  6. current — of water
  7. pitcher — a jug
  8. tear — from crying
  9. hide — animal skin
  10. straw — dry grass
  11. snap — to click
  12. snap — to snap out of it
  13. hide — to keep secret
  14. straw — a straw man
  15. tear — to rip
  16. date — on the calendar
  17. current — happening now
  18. straw — to clutch at straws
  19. current — electric
  20. pitcher — a jug
  21. pitcher — in baseball
  22. pound — for dogs
  23. pound — a weight
  24. date — the fruit

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