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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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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: dip · tear · rush · wind · cold · key · branch · current

  1. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  2. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  3. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  4. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  5. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  6. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  7. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  8. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  9. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  10. The water is too ________________.
  11. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  12. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  13. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  14. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  15. That must've been a ________________.
  16. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  17. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  18. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  19. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  20. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  21. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  22. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  23. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  24. This piece is in a major ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. current — electric
  2. cold — an illness
  3. branch — of a bank
  4. tear — to rip
  5. rush — hurry
  6. dip — to dunk
  7. current — of water
  8. tear — from crying
  9. dip — to sink
  10. cold — not warm
  11. tear — from crying
  12. cold — the Cold War
  13. key — the most important part
  14. branch — of a tree
  15. rush — a thrill
  16. current — happening now
  17. wind — moving air
  18. rush — to hurry
  19. key — for a lock
  20. wind — moving air
  21. wind — to turn a key
  22. dip — a sauce
  23. branch — a division
  24. key — in music

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