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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 120 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: bear · current · last · shower · hand · kick · snap · cue

  1. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  2. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  3. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  4. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  5. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  6. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  7. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  8. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  9. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  10. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  11. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  12. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  13. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  14. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  15. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  16. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  17. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  18. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  19. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  20. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  21. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  22. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  23. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  24. False peace will not ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bear — to put up with
  2. last — final
  3. hand — help
  4. current — of water
  5. cue — a hint
  6. snap — to click
  7. kick — a thrill
  8. cue — for pool
  9. kick — with a leg
  10. current — electric
  11. shower — a meteor shower
  12. cue — a signal
  13. shower — rain
  14. last — finally
  15. bear — the animal
  16. snap — to snap out of it
  17. snap — to speak sharply
  18. hand — part of the body
  19. hand — in cards
  20. current — happening now
  21. bear — the animal
  22. shower — to wash
  23. kick — in football
  24. last — to go on

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