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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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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: wind · roll · current · wound · object · last · shower · lean

  1. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  2. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  3. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  4. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  5. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  6. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  7. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  8. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  9. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  10. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  11. We're on a ________________ here.
  12. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  13. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  14. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  15. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  16. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  17. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  18. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  19. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  20. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  21. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  22. False peace will not ________________.
  23. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  24. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!

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

Answer key

  1. current — electric
  2. wind — moving air
  3. object — to protest
  4. wound — an injury
  5. object — an aim
  6. shower — a meteor shower
  7. wound — past of 'wind'
  8. wound — an injury
  9. lean — to rest against
  10. current — of water
  11. roll — on a roll
  12. roll — a list
  13. current — happening now
  14. lean — to bend
  15. object — a thing
  16. roll — a cake
  17. shower — to wash
  18. wind — to turn a key
  19. lean — thin
  20. shower — rain
  21. last — finally
  22. last — to go on
  23. wind — moving air
  24. last — final

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