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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. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  2. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  3. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  4. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  5. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  6. Have you found your soul ________________?
  7. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  8. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  9. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  10. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  11. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  12. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  13. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  14. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  15. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  16. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  17. That was a fun ________________.
  18. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  19. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  20. What do you think of the new ________________?
  21. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  22. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  23. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  24. That must've been a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. current — electric
  2. current — happening now
  3. snap — to click
  4. kick — with a leg
  5. rush — to hurry
  6. mate — a partner
  7. snap — to snap out of it
  8. cabinet — a cupboard
  9. rush — hurry
  10. cabinet — ministers
  11. game — a kind of play
  12. mate — a friend
  13. kick — a thrill
  14. kick — in football
  15. fork — a garden tool
  16. current — of water
  17. game — a match
  18. mate — to breed
  19. fork — in a road
  20. cabinet — ministers
  21. snap — to speak sharply
  22. fork — to eat with
  23. game — wild animals
  24. rush — a thrill

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