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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: current · shower · cap · wound · hide · tear · toast · foot

  1. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  2. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  3. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  4. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  5. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  6. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  7. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  8. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  9. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  10. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  11. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  12. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  13. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  14. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  15. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  16. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  17. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  18. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  19. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  20. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  21. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  22. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  23. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  24. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.

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

Answer key

  1. foot — part of the body
  2. hide — to keep secret
  3. tear — to rip
  4. hide — animal skin
  5. toast — the most admired
  6. current — electric
  7. toast — a drink to someone
  8. foot — the bottom
  9. tear — from crying
  10. hide — to keep secret
  11. wound — an injury
  12. cap — a lid
  13. cap — a hat
  14. wound — past of 'wind'
  15. current — of water
  16. tear — from crying
  17. shower — a meteor shower
  18. current — happening now
  19. shower — rain
  20. toast — bread
  21. shower — to wash
  22. cap — of ice
  23. wound — an injury
  24. foot — a measure

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