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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. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  2. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  3. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  4. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  5. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  6. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  7. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  8. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  9. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  10. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  11. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  12. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  13. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  14. You don't need to ________________ round.
  15. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  16. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  17. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  18. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  19. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  20. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  21. Don't do anything ________________.
  22. We're almost out of ________________.
  23. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  24. I seem to be developing a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. kick — a thrill
  2. fan — to cool the air
  3. file — a document
  4. kick — in football
  5. current — of water
  6. row — to paddle
  7. fan — a supporter
  8. pop — music
  9. branch — of a tree
  10. row — a quarrel
  11. kick — with a leg
  12. current — happening now
  13. file — a line of people
  14. pop — to visit
  15. branch — a division
  16. fan — a supporter
  17. rash — a series
  18. file — a tool
  19. row — a line
  20. current — electric
  21. rash — hasty
  22. pop — soda
  23. branch — of a bank
  24. rash — on the skin

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