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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.

Make a worksheet

Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

Words on the sheet
468
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 · fan · hand · wave · degree · kick · hide · fall

  1. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  2. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  3. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  4. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  5. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  6. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  7. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  8. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  9. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  10. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  11. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  12. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  13. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  14. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  15. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  16. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  17. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  18. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  19. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  20. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  21. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  22. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  23. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  24. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.

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

Answer key

  1. hide — to keep secret
  2. degree — from a university
  3. degree — an amount
  4. hand — in cards
  5. hand — help
  6. current — electric
  7. current — of water
  8. fall — the season
  9. fan — to cool the air
  10. fan — a supporter
  11. wave — with your hand
  12. degree — temperature
  13. kick — a thrill
  14. wave — of the sea
  15. hide — animal skin
  16. kick — with a leg
  17. hand — part of the body
  18. hide — to keep secret
  19. wave — a sudden rise
  20. current — happening now
  21. kick — in football
  22. fan — a supporter
  23. fall — to drop
  24. fall — to drop

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