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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: tear · current · calf · wind · wake · ground · swing · land

  1. When are we going to ________________?
  2. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  3. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  4. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  5. David sat on the ________________.
  6. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  7. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  8. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  9. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  10. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  11. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  12. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  13. There's no middle ________________.
  14. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  15. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  16. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  17. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  18. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  19. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  20. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  21. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  22. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  23. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  24. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.

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

Answer key

  1. land — to come down
  2. swing — music
  3. ground — crushed
  4. calf — a young animal
  5. swing — to play on
  6. wake — before a funeral
  7. tear — from crying
  8. swing — in golf
  9. land — ground
  10. land — a country
  11. wind — moving air
  12. current — happening now
  13. ground — a position
  14. ground — the earth
  15. calf — a young animal
  16. tear — from crying
  17. wake — to stop sleeping
  18. wind — moving air
  19. wind — to turn a key
  20. current — electric
  21. current — of water
  22. wake — a trail
  23. calf — of the leg
  24. tear — to rip

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