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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. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  2. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  3. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  4. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  5. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  6. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  7. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  8. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  9. Have you found your soul ________________?
  10. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  11. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  12. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  13. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  14. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  15. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  16. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  17. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  18. That must've been a ________________.
  19. That was ________________ to happen.
  20. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  21. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  22. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  23. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  24. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — in an idiom
  2. bound — tied together
  3. file — a tool
  4. current — happening now
  5. mate — a friend
  6. tear — from crying
  7. current — electric
  8. tear — from crying
  9. mate — a partner
  10. bound — obliged
  11. rush — hurry
  12. kid — to tease
  13. file — a line of people
  14. bat — the animal
  15. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  16. file — a document
  17. tear — to rip
  18. rush — a thrill
  19. bound — certain
  20. kid — child
  21. mate — to breed
  22. rush — to hurry
  23. current — of water
  24. bat — for baseball

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