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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. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  2. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  3. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  4. False peace will not ________________.
  5. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  6. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  7. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  8. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  9. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  10. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  11. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  12. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  13. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  14. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  15. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  16. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  17. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  18. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  19. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  20. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  21. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  22. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  23. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  24. I got dealt a bad ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. last — finally
  2. hand — part of the body
  3. current — happening now
  4. last — to go on
  5. tear — to rip
  6. tear — from crying
  7. jam — in traffic
  8. pit — in a race
  9. dip — to dunk
  10. tear — from crying
  11. hand — help
  12. dip — to sink
  13. current — electric
  14. file — a tool
  15. jam — a tight spot
  16. file — a line of people
  17. jam — to spread on bread
  18. current — of water
  19. dip — a sauce
  20. last — final
  21. pit — a hole
  22. file — a document
  23. pit — a fruit stone
  24. hand — in cards

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