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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: bat · cabinet · bear · cold · can · current · row · tear

  1. The water is too ________________.
  2. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  3. What do you think of the new ________________?
  4. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  5. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  6. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  7. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  8. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  9. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  10. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  11. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  12. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  13. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  14. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  15. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  16. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  17. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  18. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  19. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  20. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  21. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  22. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  23. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  24. Recycle the empty soda ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — not warm
  2. row — a line
  3. cabinet — ministers
  4. current — electric
  5. row — a quarrel
  6. bear — the animal
  7. tear — from crying
  8. cabinet — ministers
  9. cold — an illness
  10. cold — the Cold War
  11. row — to paddle
  12. can — to be able to
  13. bear — the animal
  14. bat — the animal
  15. current — happening now
  16. tear — from crying
  17. bat — for baseball
  18. can — a tin
  19. bat — in an idiom
  20. tear — to rip
  21. current — of water
  22. bear — to put up with
  23. cabinet — a cupboard
  24. can — a tin

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