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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: hide · straw · rule · lean · wound · row · tear · current

  1. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  2. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  3. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  4. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  5. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  6. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  7. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  8. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  9. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  10. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  11. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  12. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  13. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  14. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  15. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  16. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  17. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  18. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  19. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  20. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  21. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  22. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  23. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  24. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — to clutch at straws
  2. hide — to keep secret
  3. tear — from crying
  4. current — happening now
  5. tear — to rip
  6. rule — to rule out
  7. row — a line
  8. wound — past of 'wind'
  9. lean — to rest against
  10. rule — government
  11. straw — a straw man
  12. current — of water
  13. lean — to bend
  14. tear — from crying
  15. current — electric
  16. rule — a law
  17. row — to paddle
  18. hide — to keep secret
  19. wound — an injury
  20. row — a quarrel
  21. lean — thin
  22. straw — dry grass
  23. hide — animal skin
  24. wound — an injury

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