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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. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  2. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  3. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  4. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  5. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  6. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  7. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  8. The ________________ took off on time.
  9. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  10. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  11. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  12. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  13. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  14. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  15. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  16. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  17. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  18. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  19. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  20. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  21. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  22. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  23. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  24. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?

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

Answer key

  1. current — electric
  2. snap — to click
  3. wind — moving air
  4. shower — a meteor shower
  5. calf — a young animal
  6. snap — to snap out of it
  7. snap — to speak sharply
  8. plane — an aircraft
  9. plane — in geometry
  10. shower — to wash
  11. current — of water
  12. current — happening now
  13. shower — rain
  14. fan — to cool the air
  15. spring — of water
  16. wind — to turn a key
  17. plane — a tool
  18. calf — of the leg
  19. wind — moving air
  20. spring — the season
  21. fan — a supporter
  22. calf — a young animal
  23. spring — a coil
  24. fan — a supporter

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