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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. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  2. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  3. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  4. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  5. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  6. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  7. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  8. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  9. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  10. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  11. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  12. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  13. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  14. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  15. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  16. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  17. The water is too ________________.
  18. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  19. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  20. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  21. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  22. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  23. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  24. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. current — happening now
  3. current — of water
  4. tear — to rip
  5. snap — to snap out of it
  6. racket — for tennis
  7. snap — to click
  8. mark — a trace
  9. cold — an illness
  10. fork — in a road
  11. racket — for tennis
  12. mark — a grade
  13. snap — to speak sharply
  14. racket — a loud noise
  15. mark — to pay attention
  16. craft — a skill
  17. cold — not warm
  18. craft — boats
  19. tear — from crying
  20. fork — to eat with
  21. current — electric
  22. fork — a garden tool
  23. craft — a handicraft
  24. cold — the Cold War

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