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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. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  2. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  3. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  4. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  5. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  6. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  7. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  8. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  9. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  10. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  11. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  12. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  13. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  14. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  15. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  16. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  17. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  18. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  19. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  20. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  21. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  22. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  23. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  24. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. current — happening now
  2. fork — to eat with
  3. current — of water
  4. content — the amount
  5. kid — child
  6. pitch — a sports field
  7. calf — of the leg
  8. fork — a garden tool
  9. calf — a young animal
  10. wax — for sculpting
  11. pitch — a sales talk
  12. straw — a straw man
  13. straw — to clutch at straws
  14. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  15. content — videos and posts
  16. kid — to tease
  17. straw — dry grass
  18. wax — to grow
  19. pitch — completely
  20. calf — a young animal
  21. wax — in the ear
  22. content — happy
  23. fork — in a road
  24. current — electric

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