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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 thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  2. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  3. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  4. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  5. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  6. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  7. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  8. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  9. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  10. The water is too ________________.
  11. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  12. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  13. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  14. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  15. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  16. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  17. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  18. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  19. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  20. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  21. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  22. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  23. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  24. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.

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

Answer key

  1. mouse — the animal
  2. pitch — a sales talk
  3. cold — the Cold War
  4. lean — to bend
  5. mouse — the animal
  6. cold — an illness
  7. pitch — a sports field
  8. tear — from crying
  9. mouse — for a computer
  10. cold — not warm
  11. lean — to rest against
  12. trunk — of a car
  13. trunk — of a tree
  14. current — happening now
  15. lean — thin
  16. current — of water
  17. current — electric
  18. tear — to rip
  19. pitch — completely
  20. track — a path
  21. track — to keep track
  22. trunk — of an elephant
  23. tear — from crying
  24. track — a song

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