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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. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  2. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  3. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  4. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  5. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  6. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  7. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  8. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  9. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  10. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  11. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  12. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  13. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  14. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  15. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  16. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  17. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  18. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  19. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  20. This piece is in a major ________________.
  21. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  22. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  23. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  24. Hard work is the ________________ to success.

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

Answer key

  1. wake — a trail
  2. tear — from crying
  3. wake — before a funeral
  4. wound — an injury
  5. fork — in a road
  6. rest — a break
  7. current — electric
  8. key — for a lock
  9. fork — a garden tool
  10. current — of water
  11. row — a quarrel
  12. tear — to rip
  13. rest — what's left
  14. row — a line
  15. wake — to stop sleeping
  16. fork — to eat with
  17. wound — an injury
  18. tear — from crying
  19. current — happening now
  20. key — in music
  21. wound — past of 'wind'
  22. row — to paddle
  23. rest — what's left
  24. key — the most important part

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