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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: stand · current · drill · snap · cold · ruler · stick · tear

  1. I can't ________________ this cold.
  2. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  3. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  4. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  5. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  6. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  7. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  8. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  9. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  10. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  11. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  12. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  13. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  14. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  15. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  16. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  17. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  18. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  19. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  20. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  21. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  22. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  23. The water is too ________________.
  24. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.

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

Answer key

  1. stand — to bear
  2. stand — on your feet
  3. stand — for spectators
  4. current — happening now
  5. snap — to snap out of it
  6. drill — the tool
  7. current — of water
  8. cold — the Cold War
  9. snap — to speak sharply
  10. cold — an illness
  11. snap — to click
  12. ruler — for measuring
  13. drill — army training
  14. drill — a practice
  15. ruler — a monarch
  16. stick — a piece of wood
  17. tear — to rip
  18. ruler — for measuring
  19. stick — to attach or keep to
  20. current — electric
  21. tear — from crying
  22. stick — a piece of wood
  23. cold — not warm
  24. tear — from crying

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