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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: snap · game · mine · kick · tube · lie · current · wind

  1. I'll be taking the ________________.
  2. That was a fun ________________.
  3. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  4. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  5. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  6. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  7. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  8. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  9. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  10. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  11. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  12. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  13. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  14. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  15. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  16. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  17. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  18. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  19. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  20. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  21. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  22. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  23. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  24. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.

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

Answer key

  1. tube — the underground
  2. game — a match
  3. kick — a thrill
  4. tube — in a tire
  5. snap — to speak sharply
  6. kick — in football
  7. wind — to turn a key
  8. lie — an untruth
  9. mine — an explosive
  10. kick — with a leg
  11. mine — belonging to me
  12. game — a kind of play
  13. lie — to recline
  14. current — of water
  15. wind — moving air
  16. current — electric
  17. wind — moving air
  18. mine — for digging
  19. snap — to snap out of it
  20. lie — an untruth
  21. tube — a container
  22. snap — to click
  23. game — wild animals
  24. current — happening now

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