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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. I can't ________________ this cold.
  2. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  3. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  4. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  5. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  6. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  7. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  8. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  9. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  10. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  11. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  12. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  13. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  14. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  15. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  16. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  17. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  18. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  19. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  20. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  21. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  22. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  23. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  24. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.

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

Answer key

  1. stand — to bear
  2. band — a ring
  3. mine — belonging to me
  4. stand — for spectators
  5. tear — from crying
  6. shower — a meteor shower
  7. current — happening now
  8. current — of water
  9. fan — to cool the air
  10. root — of a plant
  11. mine — for digging
  12. band — a music group
  13. tear — from crying
  14. shower — rain
  15. tear — to rip
  16. stand — on your feet
  17. fan — a supporter
  18. shower — to wash
  19. root — of a word
  20. mine — an explosive
  21. band — a rubber band
  22. current — electric
  23. fan — a supporter
  24. root — the cause

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