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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. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  2. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  3. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  4. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  5. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  6. Don't do anything ________________.
  7. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  8. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  9. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  10. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  11. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  12. That must've been a ________________.
  13. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  14. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  15. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  16. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  17. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  18. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  19. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  20. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  21. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  22. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  23. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  24. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rush — hurry
  2. tear — from crying
  3. bark — of a tree
  4. rash — a series
  5. tear — from crying
  6. rash — hasty
  7. rash — on the skin
  8. wave — with your hand
  9. current — of water
  10. wave — a sudden rise
  11. trunk — of an elephant
  12. rush — a thrill
  13. row — to paddle
  14. trunk — of a car
  15. row — a quarrel
  16. rush — to hurry
  17. trunk — of a tree
  18. row — a line
  19. current — happening now
  20. bark — to shout
  21. bark — a dog's sound
  22. current — electric
  23. tear — to rip
  24. wave — of the sea

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