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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. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  2. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  3. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  4. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  5. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  6. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  7. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  8. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  9. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  10. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  11. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  12. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  13. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  14. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  15. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  16. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  17. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  18. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  19. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  20. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  21. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  22. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  23. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  24. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — to rip
  2. wound — past of 'wind'
  3. snap — to snap out of it
  4. current — of water
  5. wind — moving air
  6. tear — from crying
  7. bat — the animal
  8. bat — for baseball
  9. wound — an injury
  10. current — electric
  11. wind — to turn a key
  12. mouse — the animal
  13. mouse — the animal
  14. current — happening now
  15. wound — an injury
  16. fan — to cool the air
  17. tear — from crying
  18. snap — to speak sharply
  19. bat — in an idiom
  20. fan — a supporter
  21. wind — moving air
  22. mouse — for a computer
  23. fan — a supporter
  24. snap — to click

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