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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. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  2. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  3. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  4. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  5. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  6. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  7. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  8. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  9. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  10. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  11. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  12. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  13. The ________________ market has crashed.
  14. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  15. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  16. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  17. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  18. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  19. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  20. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  21. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  22. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  23. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  24. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.

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

Answer key

  1. current — of water
  2. kick — a thrill
  3. fall — the season
  4. fall — to drop
  5. stock — goods
  6. hand — in cards
  7. wave — with your hand
  8. current — happening now
  9. stock — a soup base
  10. fall — to drop
  11. tear — to rip
  12. current — electric
  13. stock — shares
  14. scale — for weighing
  15. kick — with a leg
  16. scale — in music
  17. tear — from crying
  18. hand — help
  19. hand — part of the body
  20. scale — size or range
  21. tear — from crying
  22. wave — a sudden rise
  23. wave — of the sea
  24. kick — in football

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