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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. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  2. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  3. It's one o'clock ________________.
  4. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  5. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  6. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  7. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  8. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  9. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  10. My father caught me by the ________________.
  11. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  12. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  13. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  14. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  15. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  16. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  17. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  18. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  19. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  20. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  21. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  22. How do you ________________ your surname?
  23. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  24. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.

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

Answer key

  1. current — of water
  2. current — electric
  3. sharp — exactly
  4. kick — with a leg
  5. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  6. file — a tool
  7. patient — a sick person
  8. kick — in football
  9. file — a document
  10. arm — part of the body
  11. kid — to tease
  12. sharp — with an edge
  13. arm — a part of something
  14. patient — a sick person
  15. spell — magic
  16. kid — child
  17. file — a line of people
  18. spell — a short time
  19. sharp — clever
  20. kick — a thrill
  21. arm — part of the body
  22. spell — letters
  23. patient — calm and waiting
  24. current — happening now

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