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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. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  2. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  3. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  4. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  5. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  6. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  7. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  8. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  9. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  10. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  11. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  12. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  13. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  14. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  15. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  16. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  17. Don't do anything ________________.
  18. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  19. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  20. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  21. I'll be taking the ________________.
  22. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  23. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  24. He is as ________________ as a wolf.

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

Answer key

  1. rock — music
  2. rash — on the skin
  3. current — happening now
  4. lean — to bend
  5. perch — the fish
  6. fall — the season
  7. tube — in a tire
  8. current — electric
  9. lean — to rest against
  10. current — of water
  11. tear — from crying
  12. fall — to drop
  13. rock — to move gently
  14. rash — a series
  15. tear — from crying
  16. perch — for a bird
  17. rash — hasty
  18. perch — for a bird
  19. rock — a stone
  20. fall — to drop
  21. tube — the underground
  22. tube — a container
  23. tear — to rip
  24. lean — thin

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