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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: dip · cold · tear · perch · wake · can · date · current

  1. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  2. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  3. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  4. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  5. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  6. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  7. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  8. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  9. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  10. Have you settled on a ________________?
  11. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  12. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  13. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  14. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  15. The water is too ________________.
  16. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  17. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  18. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  19. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  20. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  21. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  22. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  23. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  24. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. can — to be able to
  3. wake — before a funeral
  4. cold — the Cold War
  5. date — the fruit
  6. perch — for a bird
  7. current — happening now
  8. wake — to stop sleeping
  9. can — a tin
  10. date — on the calendar
  11. perch — the fish
  12. wake — a trail
  13. current — electric
  14. tear — to rip
  15. cold — not warm
  16. current — of water
  17. can — a tin
  18. dip — a sauce
  19. dip — to sink
  20. tear — from crying
  21. cold — an illness
  22. perch — for a bird
  23. date — on the calendar
  24. dip — to dunk

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