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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. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  2. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  3. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  4. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  5. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  6. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  7. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  8. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  9. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  10. Did you ________________ the meat?
  11. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  12. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  13. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  14. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  15. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  16. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  17. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  18. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  19. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  20. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  21. When was this ________________ built?
  22. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  23. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  24. It's one o'clock ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. current — happening now
  2. dip — to dunk
  3. season — of the year
  4. temple — side of the head
  5. rest — what's left
  6. rest — a break
  7. hand — in cards
  8. current — electric
  9. sharp — with an edge
  10. season — to add flavour
  11. hand — help
  12. sharp — clever
  13. hand — part of the body
  14. tear — from crying
  15. dip — a sauce
  16. temple — a place of worship
  17. current — of water
  18. tear — to rip
  19. dip — to sink
  20. rest — what's left
  21. temple — a place of worship
  22. season — in sport
  23. tear — from crying
  24. sharp — exactly

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