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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: lash · bay · current · mark · cold · tear · toast · prune

  1. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  2. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  3. My mare is ________________ in color.
  4. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  5. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  6. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  7. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  8. The water is too ________________.
  9. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  10. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  11. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  12. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  13. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  14. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  15. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  16. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  17. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  18. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  19. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  20. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  21. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  22. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  23. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  24. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.

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

Answer key

  1. current — happening now
  2. cold — an illness
  3. bay — a horse colour
  4. toast — a drink to someone
  5. cold — the Cold War
  6. prune — the fruit
  7. tear — from crying
  8. cold — not warm
  9. lash — a whip stroke
  10. current — electric
  11. bay — a part of the sea
  12. prune — to trim
  13. toast — bread
  14. mark — a trace
  15. toast — the most admired
  16. current — of water
  17. tear — from crying
  18. mark — a grade
  19. bay — to keep at bay
  20. lash — an eyelash
  21. prune — to trim
  22. mark — to pay attention
  23. lash — to lash out
  24. tear — to rip

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