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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. David sat on the ________________.
  2. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  3. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  4. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  5. False peace will not ________________.
  6. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  7. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  8. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  9. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  10. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  11. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  12. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  13. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  14. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  15. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  16. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  17. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  18. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  19. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  20. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  21. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  22. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  23. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  24. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. swing — to play on
  2. wave — a sudden rise
  3. last — final
  4. wave — with your hand
  5. last — to go on
  6. fall — the season
  7. last — finally
  8. cue — for pool
  9. wound — past of 'wind'
  10. fall — to drop
  11. tear — to rip
  12. fall — to drop
  13. wound — an injury
  14. current — happening now
  15. current — of water
  16. tear — from crying
  17. swing — in golf
  18. cue — a signal
  19. swing — music
  20. wave — of the sea
  21. wound — an injury
  22. cue — a hint
  23. tear — from crying
  24. current — electric

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