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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. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  2. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  3. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  4. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  5. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  6. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  7. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  8. He is an ace ________________.
  9. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  10. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  11. He was locked up in a ________________.
  12. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  13. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  14. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  15. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  16. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  17. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  18. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  19. That must've been a ________________.
  20. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  21. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  22. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  23. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  24. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.

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

Answer key

  1. current — of water
  2. calf — a young animal
  3. content — the amount
  4. calf — a young animal
  5. rush — to hurry
  6. drill — a practice
  7. pitcher — a jug
  8. pitcher — in baseball
  9. clip — a video
  10. content — videos and posts
  11. cell — in a prison
  12. drill — army training
  13. pitcher — a jug
  14. current — happening now
  15. current — electric
  16. calf — of the leg
  17. rush — hurry
  18. cell — in biology
  19. rush — a thrill
  20. drill — the tool
  21. clip — for paper
  22. cell — a phone
  23. content — happy
  24. clip — to cut

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