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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. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  2. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  3. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  4. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  5. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  6. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  7. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  8. Where did you ________________ them?
  9. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  10. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  11. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  12. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  13. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  14. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  15. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  16. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  17. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  18. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  19. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  20. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  21. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  22. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  23. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  24. This looks like a gunshot ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. hide — to keep secret
  2. lean — thin
  3. hide — to keep secret
  4. fall — to drop
  5. mug — a cup
  6. current — of water
  7. wound — an injury
  8. mug — to rob
  9. root — the cause
  10. wound — past of 'wind'
  11. hide — animal skin
  12. current — electric
  13. fall — to drop
  14. file — a document
  15. root — of a word
  16. root — of a plant
  17. lean — to bend
  18. lean — to rest against
  19. file — a line of people
  20. current — happening now
  21. file — a tool
  22. fall — the season
  23. mug — a face
  24. wound — an injury

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