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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: straw · wound · calf · bark · file · rash · fan · current

  1. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  2. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  3. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  4. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  5. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  6. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  7. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  8. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  9. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  10. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  11. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  12. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  13. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  14. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  15. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  16. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  17. Don't do anything ________________.
  18. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  19. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  20. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  21. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  22. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  23. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  24. This looks like a gunshot ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. current — happening now
  2. current — electric
  3. wound — past of 'wind'
  4. fan — a supporter
  5. file — a tool
  6. fan — to cool the air
  7. calf — a young animal
  8. bark — of a tree
  9. rash — a series
  10. fan — a supporter
  11. file — a document
  12. rash — on the skin
  13. file — a line of people
  14. bark — to shout
  15. calf — of the leg
  16. current — of water
  17. rash — hasty
  18. straw — a straw man
  19. calf — a young animal
  20. straw — dry grass
  21. straw — to clutch at straws
  22. bark — a dog's sound
  23. wound — an injury
  24. wound — an injury

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