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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. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  2. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  3. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  4. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  5. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  6. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  7. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  8. The water is too ________________.
  9. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  10. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  11. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  12. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  13. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  14. When are we going to ________________?
  15. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  16. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  17. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  18. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  19. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  20. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  21. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  22. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  23. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  24. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.

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

Answer key

  1. pound — to hit hard
  2. fall — to drop
  3. prune — to trim
  4. can — to be able to
  5. can — a tin
  6. fall — to drop
  7. fall — the season
  8. cold — not warm
  9. land — ground
  10. tear — to rip
  11. current — electric
  12. prune — the fruit
  13. cold — the Cold War
  14. land — to come down
  15. tear — from crying
  16. cold — an illness
  17. current — happening now
  18. pound — for dogs
  19. current — of water
  20. tear — from crying
  21. can — a tin
  22. prune — to trim
  23. pound — a weight
  24. land — a country

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