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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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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: tear · wake · cold · pitcher · rush · wound · current · craft

  1. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  2. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  3. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  4. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  5. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  6. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  7. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  8. The water is too ________________.
  9. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  10. He is an ace ________________.
  11. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  12. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  13. That must've been a ________________.
  14. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  15. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  16. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  17. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  18. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  19. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  20. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  21. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  22. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  23. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  24. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.

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

Answer key

  1. wake — to stop sleeping
  2. cold — an illness
  3. tear — from crying
  4. current — electric
  5. wound — past of 'wind'
  6. cold — the Cold War
  7. wound — an injury
  8. cold — not warm
  9. rush — to hurry
  10. pitcher — in baseball
  11. tear — to rip
  12. wound — an injury
  13. rush — a thrill
  14. craft — boats
  15. tear — from crying
  16. wake — a trail
  17. craft — a handicraft
  18. current — happening now
  19. pitcher — a jug
  20. pitcher — a jug
  21. current — of water
  22. craft — a skill
  23. rush — hurry
  24. wake — before a funeral

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