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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. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  2. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  3. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  4. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  5. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  6. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  7. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  8. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  9. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  10. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  11. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  12. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  13. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  14. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  15. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  16. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  17. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  18. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  19. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  20. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  21. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  22. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  23. When will it ________________ you to start?
  24. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.

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

Answer key

  1. current — of water
  2. tear — from crying
  3. squash — the vegetable
  4. squash — to crush
  5. march — the month
  6. tear — from crying
  7. bat — for baseball
  8. wound — an injury
  9. bark — a dog's sound
  10. tear — to rip
  11. wound — an injury
  12. bark — to shout
  13. wound — past of 'wind'
  14. current — electric
  15. march — the month
  16. current — happening now
  17. march — music
  18. bat — the animal
  19. bat — in an idiom
  20. squash — the sport
  21. bark — of a tree
  22. suit — in cards
  23. suit — to fit
  24. suit — clothes

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