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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. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  2. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  3. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  4. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  5. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  6. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  7. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  8. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  9. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  10. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  11. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  12. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  13. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  14. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  15. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  16. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  17. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  18. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  19. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  20. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  21. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  22. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  23. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  24. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?

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

Answer key

  1. rock — music
  2. shower — rain
  3. rock — to move gently
  4. dip — to sink
  5. current — electric
  6. kid — to tease
  7. shower — to wash
  8. dip — to dunk
  9. bass — the fish
  10. tear — from crying
  11. bass — low music
  12. tear — to rip
  13. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  14. bass — the instrument
  15. current — happening now
  16. present — the time now
  17. kid — child
  18. current — of water
  19. shower — a meteor shower
  20. present — there
  21. rock — a stone
  22. dip — a sauce
  23. tear — from crying
  24. present — a gift

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