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

Word bank: drill · leaves · current · rest · snap · pitcher · tear · chest

  1. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  2. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  3. He is an ace ________________.
  4. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  5. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  6. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  7. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  8. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  9. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  10. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  11. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  12. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  13. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  14. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  15. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  16. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  17. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  18. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  19. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  20. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  21. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  22. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  23. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  24. I would like to have a ________________ here.

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

Answer key

  1. leaves — lets stay
  2. drill — a practice
  3. pitcher — in baseball
  4. current — of water
  5. tear — from crying
  6. leaves — to go away
  7. rest — what's left
  8. snap — to click
  9. tear — from crying
  10. chest — of your body
  11. pitcher — a jug
  12. pitcher — a jug
  13. chest — a box
  14. chest — of your body
  15. drill — army training
  16. leaves — of a tree
  17. current — electric
  18. rest — what's left
  19. tear — to rip
  20. drill — the tool
  21. current — happening now
  22. snap — to speak sharply
  23. snap — to snap out of it
  24. rest — a break

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