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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. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  2. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  3. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  4. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  5. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  6. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  7. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  8. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  9. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  10. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  11. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  12. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  13. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  14. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  15. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  16. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  17. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  18. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  19. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  20. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  21. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  22. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  23. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  24. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. fan — a supporter
  3. kid — to tease
  4. wake — before a funeral
  5. kid — child
  6. fan — to cool the air
  7. snap — to speak sharply
  8. current — happening now
  9. tear — from crying
  10. current — of water
  11. snap — to snap out of it
  12. wake — a trail
  13. fan — a supporter
  14. club — for golf
  15. club — a group
  16. scale — size or range
  17. scale — for weighing
  18. wake — to stop sleeping
  19. scale — in music
  20. snap — to click
  21. club — for dancing
  22. tear — to rip
  23. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  24. current — electric

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