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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. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  3. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  4. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  5. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  6. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  7. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  8. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  9. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  10. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  11. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  12. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  13. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  14. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  15. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  16. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  17. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  18. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  19. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  20. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  21. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  22. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  23. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  24. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.

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

Answer key

  1. current — of water
  2. wound — an injury
  3. rest — what's left
  4. hand — in cards
  5. wound — past of 'wind'
  6. lean — to bend
  7. stem — a stem cell
  8. hand — part of the body
  9. current — happening now
  10. rest — a break
  11. tear — to rip
  12. rest — what's left
  13. race — humankind
  14. stem — of a plant
  15. lean — to rest against
  16. tear — from crying
  17. stem — to come from
  18. tear — from crying
  19. lean — thin
  20. race — a contest
  21. current — electric
  22. race — the arms race
  23. hand — help
  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