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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 116 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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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: object · content · current · row · kid · firm · cold · fork

  1. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  2. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  3. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  4. The water is too ________________.
  5. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  6. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  7. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  8. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  9. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  10. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  11. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  12. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  13. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  14. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  15. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  16. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  17. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  18. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  19. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  20. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  21. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  22. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  23. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  24. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.

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

Answer key

  1. firm — steady
  2. row — a line
  3. object — an aim
  4. cold — not warm
  5. fork — a garden tool
  6. fork — in a road
  7. cold — an illness
  8. object — to protest
  9. kid — child
  10. content — videos and posts
  11. current — electric
  12. object — a thing
  13. firm — a company
  14. fork — to eat with
  15. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  16. row — to paddle
  17. cold — the Cold War
  18. firm — decided
  19. current — happening now
  20. content — happy
  21. row — a quarrel
  22. content — the amount
  23. current — of water
  24. kid — to tease

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