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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. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  2. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  3. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  4. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  5. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  6. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  7. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  8. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  9. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  10. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  11. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  12. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  13. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  14. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  15. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  16. We're on a ________________ here.
  17. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  18. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  19. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  20. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  21. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  22. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  23. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  24. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.

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

Answer key

  1. current — electric
  2. wound — past of 'wind'
  3. roll — a cake
  4. fork — in a road
  5. club — a group
  6. wound — an injury
  7. current — of water
  8. bank — for money
  9. fork — a garden tool
  10. club — for dancing
  11. roll — a list
  12. bank — for money
  13. bank — of a river
  14. club — for golf
  15. fork — to eat with
  16. roll — on a roll
  17. chest — of your body
  18. shower — to wash
  19. current — happening now
  20. shower — a meteor shower
  21. chest — a box
  22. wound — an injury
  23. shower — rain
  24. chest — of your body

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