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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 120 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: rash · file · current · straw · cold · tear · shower · pound

  1. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  2. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  3. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  4. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  5. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  6. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  7. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  8. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  9. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  10. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  11. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  12. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  13. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  14. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  15. The water is too ________________.
  16. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  17. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  18. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  19. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  20. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  21. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  22. Don't do anything ________________.
  23. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  24. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.

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

Answer key

  1. current — happening now
  2. file — a tool
  3. pound — a weight
  4. file — a line of people
  5. shower — a meteor shower
  6. current — electric
  7. pound — to hit hard
  8. file — a document
  9. shower — to wash
  10. cold — the Cold War
  11. straw — to clutch at straws
  12. rash — on the skin
  13. straw — a straw man
  14. pound — for dogs
  15. cold — not warm
  16. tear — to rip
  17. tear — from crying
  18. current — of water
  19. straw — dry grass
  20. tear — from crying
  21. shower — rain
  22. rash — hasty
  23. cold — an illness
  24. rash — a series

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