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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. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  2. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  3. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  4. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  5. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  6. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  7. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  8. He was locked up in a ________________.
  9. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  10. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  11. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  12. False peace will not ________________.
  13. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  14. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  15. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  16. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  17. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  18. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  19. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  20. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  21. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  22. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  23. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  24. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.

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

Answer key

  1. rest — a break
  2. tear — from crying
  3. cell — in biology
  4. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  5. current — of water
  6. dip — a sauce
  7. dip — to dunk
  8. cell — in a prison
  9. cell — a phone
  10. wind — to turn a key
  11. rest — what's left
  12. last — to go on
  13. kid — child
  14. last — finally
  15. wind — moving air
  16. last — final
  17. wind — moving air
  18. dip — to sink
  19. current — happening now
  20. rest — what's left
  21. tear — from crying
  22. tear — to rip
  23. current — electric
  24. kid — to tease

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