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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. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  2. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  3. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  4. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  5. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  6. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  7. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  8. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  9. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  10. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  11. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  12. Have you found your soul ________________?
  13. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  14. There's no middle ________________.
  15. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  16. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  17. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  18. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  19. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  20. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  21. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  22. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  23. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  24. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.

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

Answer key

  1. file — a tool
  2. cap — of ice
  3. current — electric
  4. tear — from crying
  5. lean — to rest against
  6. tear — from crying
  7. file — a document
  8. mate — to breed
  9. present — a gift
  10. lean — thin
  11. cap — a hat
  12. mate — a partner
  13. mate — a friend
  14. ground — a position
  15. ground — crushed
  16. lean — to bend
  17. tear — to rip
  18. ground — the earth
  19. file — a line of people
  20. cap — a lid
  21. current — happening now
  22. present — there
  23. current — of water
  24. present — the time now

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