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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. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  2. The water is too ________________.
  3. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  4. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  5. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  6. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  7. She's very handy with a ________________.
  8. You don't need to ________________ round.
  9. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  10. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  11. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  12. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  13. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  14. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  15. We're almost out of ________________.
  16. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  17. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  18. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  19. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  20. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  21. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  22. He works in a ________________ mill.
  23. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  24. Let us try to swim against the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. current — electric
  2. cold — not warm
  3. pop — music
  4. tear — to rip
  5. drill — the tool
  6. current — happening now
  7. saw — the tool
  8. pop — to visit
  9. drill — a practice
  10. drill — army training
  11. track — a path
  12. tear — from crying
  13. rock — music
  14. rock — to move gently
  15. pop — soda
  16. tear — from crying
  17. track — a song
  18. cold — an illness
  19. rock — a stone
  20. saw — past of 'see'
  21. track — to keep track
  22. saw — the tool
  23. cold — the Cold War
  24. current — of water

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