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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. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  2. What do you think of the new ________________?
  3. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  4. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  5. That must've been a ________________.
  6. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  7. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  8. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  9. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  10. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  11. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  12. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  13. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  14. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  15. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  16. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  17. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  18. My father caught me by the ________________.
  19. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  20. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  21. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  22. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  23. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  24. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. present — a gift
  2. cabinet — ministers
  3. tear — to rip
  4. arm — part of the body
  5. rush — a thrill
  6. wake — to stop sleeping
  7. branch — of a bank
  8. tear — from crying
  9. wake — before a funeral
  10. present — the time now
  11. tear — from crying
  12. branch — a division
  13. current — happening now
  14. current — of water
  15. cabinet — ministers
  16. rush — to hurry
  17. rush — hurry
  18. arm — part of the body
  19. arm — a part of something
  20. cabinet — a cupboard
  21. branch — of a tree
  22. present — there
  23. wake — a trail
  24. current — electric

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