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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. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  2. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  3. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  4. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  5. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  6. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  7. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  8. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  9. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  10. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  11. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  12. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  13. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  14. There's no middle ________________.
  15. He is an ace ________________.
  16. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  17. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  18. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  19. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  20. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  21. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  22. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  23. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  24. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — past of 'wind'
  2. wound — an injury
  3. wind — moving air
  4. pitcher — a jug
  5. current — electric
  6. fan — a supporter
  7. pitcher — a jug
  8. wind — to turn a key
  9. tear — to rip
  10. ground — crushed
  11. current — of water
  12. fan — to cool the air
  13. tear — from crying
  14. ground — a position
  15. pitcher — in baseball
  16. current — happening now
  17. leaves — to go away
  18. leaves — of a tree
  19. tear — from crying
  20. wound — an injury
  21. ground — the earth
  22. leaves — lets stay
  23. fan — a supporter
  24. wind — moving air

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