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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: squash · nail · tear · cold · present · mug · foot · current

  1. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  2. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  3. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  4. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  5. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  6. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  7. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  8. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  9. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  10. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  11. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  12. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  13. The water is too ________________.
  14. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  15. Where did you ________________ them?
  16. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  17. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  18. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  19. The ________________ went through the wall.
  20. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  21. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  22. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  23. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  24. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.

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

Answer key

  1. nail — on a finger
  2. mug — a cup
  3. squash — to crush
  4. present — a gift
  5. mug — a face
  6. current — of water
  7. foot — a measure
  8. tear — to rip
  9. cold — an illness
  10. foot — part of the body
  11. squash — the sport
  12. tear — from crying
  13. cold — not warm
  14. tear — from crying
  15. mug — to rob
  16. cold — the Cold War
  17. current — electric
  18. present — the time now
  19. nail — for a hammer
  20. squash — the vegetable
  21. foot — the bottom
  22. nail — for a hammer
  23. present — there
  24. current — happening now

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