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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 120 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. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  2. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  3. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  4. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  5. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  6. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  7. That must've been a ________________.
  8. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  9. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  10. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  11. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  12. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  13. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  14. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  15. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  16. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  17. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  18. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  19. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  20. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  21. The water is too ________________.
  22. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  23. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  24. He had ________________ pain while walking.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to click
  2. current — of water
  3. lie — an untruth
  4. calf — a young animal
  5. snap — to speak sharply
  6. fine — all right
  7. rush — a thrill
  8. rush — to hurry
  9. current — electric
  10. rush — hurry
  11. snap — to snap out of it
  12. lie — an untruth
  13. field — for sport
  14. calf — a young animal
  15. field — a subject
  16. cold — the Cold War
  17. current — happening now
  18. lie — to recline
  19. fine — a penalty
  20. fine — high quality
  21. cold — not warm
  22. cold — an illness
  23. field — farmland
  24. calf — of the leg

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