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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.

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: calf · fan · sharp · stem · file · pound · kid · current

  1. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  2. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  3. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  4. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  5. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  6. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  7. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  8. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  9. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  10. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  11. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  12. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  13. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  14. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  15. It's one o'clock ________________.
  16. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  17. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  18. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  19. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  20. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  21. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  22. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  23. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  24. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — child
  2. current — electric
  3. sharp — with an edge
  4. sharp — clever
  5. fan — a supporter
  6. kid — to tease
  7. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  8. pound — for dogs
  9. calf — of the leg
  10. file — a document
  11. pound — to hit hard
  12. stem — to come from
  13. calf — a young animal
  14. calf — a young animal
  15. sharp — exactly
  16. fan — to cool the air
  17. file — a tool
  18. stem — a stem cell
  19. current — of water
  20. fan — a supporter
  21. stem — of a plant
  22. current — happening now
  23. file — a line of people
  24. pound — a weight

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