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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. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  2. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  3. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  4. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  5. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  6. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  7. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  8. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  9. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  10. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  11. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  12. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  13. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  14. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  15. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  16. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  17. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  18. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  19. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  20. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  21. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  22. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  23. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  24. We ________________ up on opposing sides.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — moving air
  2. current — of water
  3. kick — with a leg
  4. current — happening now
  5. wind — to turn a key
  6. degree — an amount
  7. degree — from a university
  8. kick — a thrill
  9. degree — temperature
  10. wound — an injury
  11. current — electric
  12. calf — of the leg
  13. file — a line of people
  14. can — to be able to
  15. file — a document
  16. kick — in football
  17. wind — moving air
  18. calf — a young animal
  19. file — a tool
  20. can — a tin
  21. calf — a young animal
  22. can — a tin
  23. wound — an injury
  24. wound — past of 'wind'

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