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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 116 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. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  2. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  3. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  4. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  5. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  6. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  7. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  8. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  9. He works in a ________________ mill.
  10. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  11. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  12. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  13. False peace will not ________________.
  14. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  15. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  16. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  17. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  18. She's very handy with a ________________.
  19. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  20. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  21. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  22. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  23. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  24. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!

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

Answer key

  1. cap — of ice
  2. wake — a trail
  3. tear — from crying
  4. wake — to stop sleeping
  5. saw — past of 'see'
  6. wake — before a funeral
  7. bat — in an idiom
  8. pit — in a race
  9. saw — the tool
  10. current — electric
  11. cap — a lid
  12. cap — a hat
  13. last — to go on
  14. tear — to rip
  15. pit — a hole
  16. current — happening now
  17. pit — a fruit stone
  18. saw — the tool
  19. last — finally
  20. bat — the animal
  21. tear — from crying
  22. current — of water
  23. bat — for baseball
  24. last — final

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