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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. The water is too ________________.
  2. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  3. When will it ________________ you to start?
  4. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  5. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  6. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  7. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  8. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  9. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  10. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  11. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  12. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  13. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  14. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  15. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  16. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  17. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  18. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  19. When was this ________________ built?
  20. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  21. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  22. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  23. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  24. Let us try to swim against the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — not warm
  2. current — electric
  3. suit — to fit
  4. cold — an illness
  5. kick — in football
  6. current — happening now
  7. drill — the tool
  8. kick — with a leg
  9. temple — a place of worship
  10. bark — to shout
  11. suit — clothes
  12. tear — from crying
  13. suit — in cards
  14. kick — a thrill
  15. tear — from crying
  16. drill — army training
  17. bark — of a tree
  18. drill — a practice
  19. temple — a place of worship
  20. bark — a dog's sound
  21. cold — the Cold War
  22. temple — side of the head
  23. tear — to rip
  24. current — of water

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