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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. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  2. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  3. When are we going to ________________?
  4. Don't do anything ________________.
  5. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  6. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  7. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  8. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  9. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  10. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  11. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  12. I'll be taking the ________________.
  13. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  14. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  15. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  16. That must've been a ________________.
  17. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  18. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  19. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  20. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  21. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  22. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  23. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  24. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.

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

Answer key

  1. rush — to hurry
  2. current — happening now
  3. land — to come down
  4. rash — hasty
  5. wound — an injury
  6. current — electric
  7. lean — to bend
  8. lean — thin
  9. hand — part of the body
  10. rash — a series
  11. hand — in cards
  12. tube — the underground
  13. tube — a container
  14. tube — in a tire
  15. wound — an injury
  16. rush — a thrill
  17. land — a country
  18. current — of water
  19. rush — hurry
  20. wound — past of 'wind'
  21. land — ground
  22. rash — on the skin
  23. hand — help
  24. lean — to rest against

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