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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 116 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 in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  2. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  3. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  4. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  5. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  6. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  7. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  8. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  9. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  10. He was locked up in a ________________.
  11. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  12. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  13. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  14. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  15. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  16. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  17. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  18. The water is too ________________.
  19. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  20. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  21. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  22. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  23. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  24. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.

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

Answer key

  1. kick — with a leg
  2. cold — the Cold War
  3. mouse — the animal
  4. mouse — the animal
  5. bat — in an idiom
  6. wind — moving air
  7. current — of water
  8. wake — to stop sleeping
  9. wake — before a funeral
  10. cell — in a prison
  11. current — happening now
  12. current — electric
  13. kick — in football
  14. bat — the animal
  15. bat — for baseball
  16. cell — a phone
  17. wake — a trail
  18. cold — not warm
  19. wind — to turn a key
  20. mouse — for a computer
  21. kick — a thrill
  22. wind — moving air
  23. cell — in biology
  24. cold — an illness

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