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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 116 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: net · wake · lean · hide · hand · current · tear · mug

  1. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  2. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  3. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  4. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  5. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  6. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  7. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  8. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  9. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  10. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  11. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  12. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  13. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  14. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  15. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  16. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  17. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  18. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  19. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  20. Where did you ________________ them?
  21. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  22. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  23. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  24. We have nothing to ________________ here.

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

Answer key

  1. hide — animal skin
  2. hand — in cards
  3. hand — help
  4. lean — thin
  5. lean — to rest against
  6. hand — part of the body
  7. wake — to stop sleeping
  8. tear — from crying
  9. net — for catching
  10. wake — before a funeral
  11. net — after costs
  12. lean — to bend
  13. current — happening now
  14. tear — from crying
  15. mug — a cup
  16. net — in sport
  17. tear — to rip
  18. current — electric
  19. mug — a face
  20. mug — to rob
  21. current — of water
  22. wake — a trail
  23. hide — to keep secret
  24. hide — to keep secret

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