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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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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: snap · straw · wind · file · calf · current · court · pass

  1. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  2. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  3. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  4. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  5. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  6. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  7. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  8. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  9. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  10. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  11. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  12. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  13. The ball is in your ________________.
  14. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  15. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  16. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  17. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  18. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  19. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  20. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  21. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  22. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  23. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  24. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pass — to succeed
  2. court — of a king
  3. snap — to snap out of it
  4. snap — to click
  5. current — happening now
  6. calf — a young animal
  7. calf — of the leg
  8. pass — to spend time
  9. wind — moving air
  10. file — a tool
  11. file — a line of people
  12. wind — moving air
  13. court — for sport
  14. current — of water
  15. court — of law
  16. pass — a permit
  17. straw — to clutch at straws
  18. wind — to turn a key
  19. snap — to speak sharply
  20. straw — a straw man
  21. current — electric
  22. file — a document
  23. calf — a young animal
  24. straw — dry grass

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