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

  1. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  2. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  3. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  4. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  5. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  6. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  7. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  8. It's one o'clock ________________.
  9. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  10. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  11. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  12. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  13. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  14. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  15. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  16. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  17. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  18. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  19. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  20. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  21. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  22. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  23. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  24. He was blown up by a land ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. net — in sport
  2. dip — to sink
  3. dip — a sauce
  4. dip — to dunk
  5. current — electric
  6. calf — a young animal
  7. root — of a plant
  8. sharp — exactly
  9. kid — to tease
  10. calf — of the leg
  11. mine — belonging to me
  12. net — for catching
  13. current — of water
  14. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  15. mine — for digging
  16. sharp — clever
  17. net — after costs
  18. sharp — with an edge
  19. root — of a word
  20. root — the cause
  21. calf — a young animal
  22. kid — child
  23. current — happening now
  24. mine — an explosive

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