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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. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  2. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  3. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  4. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  5. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  6. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  7. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  8. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  9. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  10. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  11. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  12. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  13. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  14. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  15. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  16. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  17. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  18. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  19. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  20. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  21. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  22. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  23. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  24. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. current — happening now
  2. kick — a thrill
  3. kick — with a leg
  4. bark — to shout
  5. kick — in football
  6. kid — to tease
  7. bark — a dog's sound
  8. can — to be able to
  9. racket — for tennis
  10. track — to keep track
  11. wind — to turn a key
  12. track — a path
  13. current — of water
  14. can — a tin
  15. can — a tin
  16. wind — moving air
  17. wind — moving air
  18. kid — child
  19. current — electric
  20. track — a song
  21. racket — a loud noise
  22. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  23. racket — for tennis
  24. bark — of a tree

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