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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. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  2. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  3. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  4. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  5. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  6. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  7. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  8. What do you think of the new ________________?
  9. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  10. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  11. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  12. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  13. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  14. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  15. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  16. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  17. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  18. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  19. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  20. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  21. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  22. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  23. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  24. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — to rip
  2. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  3. spring — of water
  4. tear — from crying
  5. fall — the season
  6. tear — from crying
  7. shower — a meteor shower
  8. cabinet — ministers
  9. spring — the season
  10. fall — to drop
  11. current — of water
  12. kid — child
  13. fall — to drop
  14. cabinet — ministers
  15. current — happening now
  16. squash — the vegetable
  17. squash — the sport
  18. current — electric
  19. kid — to tease
  20. cabinet — a cupboard
  21. shower — rain
  22. shower — to wash
  23. squash — to crush
  24. spring — a coil

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