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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.

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: land · wave · row · bat · wound · safe · kick · current

  1. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  2. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  3. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  4. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  5. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  6. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  7. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  8. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  9. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  10. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  11. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  12. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  13. When are we going to ________________?
  14. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  15. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  16. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  17. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  18. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  19. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  20. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  21. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  22. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  23. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  24. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.

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

Answer key

  1. kick — a thrill
  2. row — a line
  3. wound — past of 'wind'
  4. safe — a strongbox
  5. wave — of the sea
  6. wound — an injury
  7. land — a country
  8. bat — in an idiom
  9. wave — a sudden rise
  10. row — a quarrel
  11. safe — out of danger
  12. wave — with your hand
  13. land — to come down
  14. land — ground
  15. bat — for baseball
  16. wound — an injury
  17. current — electric
  18. current — happening now
  19. bat — the animal
  20. kick — with a leg
  21. safe — out of danger
  22. row — to paddle
  23. current — of water
  24. kick — in football

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