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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 cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  2. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  3. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  4. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  5. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  6. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  7. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  8. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  9. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  10. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  11. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  12. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  13. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  14. That was a fun ________________.
  15. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  16. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  17. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  18. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  19. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  20. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  21. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  22. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  23. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  24. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. tear — to rip
  3. current — electric
  4. bowl — to roll
  5. current — happening now
  6. patient — a sick person
  7. patient — calm and waiting
  8. kick — a thrill
  9. wound — an injury
  10. game — wild animals
  11. wound — an injury
  12. bowl — a dish
  13. patient — a sick person
  14. game — a match
  15. wound — past of 'wind'
  16. kick — with a leg
  17. kick — in football
  18. hand — in cards
  19. game — a kind of play
  20. hand — help
  21. current — of water
  22. tear — from crying
  23. bowl — a football final
  24. hand — part of the body

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