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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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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: current · wind · straw · kick · chest · club

  1. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  2. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  3. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  4. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  5. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  6. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  7. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  8. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  9. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  10. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  11. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  12. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  13. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  14. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  15. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  16. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  17. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  18. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — of your body
  2. club — for dancing
  3. straw — dry grass
  4. chest — of your body
  5. kick — a thrill
  6. current — of water
  7. kick — with a leg
  8. straw — a straw man
  9. club — a group
  10. club — for golf
  11. chest — a box
  12. current — happening now
  13. wind — moving air
  14. wind — moving air
  15. current — electric
  16. straw — to clutch at straws
  17. kick — in football
  18. wind — to turn a key

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