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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. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  2. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  3. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  4. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  5. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  6. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  7. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  8. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  9. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  10. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  11. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  12. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  13. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  14. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  15. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  16. I can't ________________ this cold.
  17. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  18. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  19. The King held a masked ________________.
  20. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  21. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  22. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  23. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  24. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — help
  2. tear — from crying
  3. current — electric
  4. foot — a measure
  5. tear — to rip
  6. present — a gift
  7. shower — rain
  8. present — there
  9. stand — for spectators
  10. shower — to wash
  11. foot — the bottom
  12. shower — a meteor shower
  13. present — the time now
  14. hand — in cards
  15. current — happening now
  16. stand — to bear
  17. foot — part of the body
  18. stand — on your feet
  19. ball — a dance
  20. current — of water
  21. ball — a great time
  22. ball — a round shape
  23. hand — part of the body
  24. tear — from crying

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