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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 116 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. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  2. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  3. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  4. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  5. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  6. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  7. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  8. The water is too ________________.
  9. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  10. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  11. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  12. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  13. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  14. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  15. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  16. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  17. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  18. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  19. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  20. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  21. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  22. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  23. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  24. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.

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

Answer key

  1. fan — a supporter
  2. fan — to cool the air
  3. cold — the Cold War
  4. current — happening now
  5. cold — an illness
  6. kick — with a leg
  7. current — of water
  8. cold — not warm
  9. kick — in football
  10. can — to be able to
  11. dip — a sauce
  12. tear — to rip
  13. tear — from crying
  14. tear — from crying
  15. dip — to dunk
  16. lash — to lash out
  17. current — electric
  18. can — a tin
  19. lash — an eyelash
  20. kick — a thrill
  21. can — a tin
  22. lash — a whip stroke
  23. fan — a supporter
  24. dip — to sink

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