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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: roll · current · fall · kid · bark · rock · straw · wave

  1. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  2. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  3. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  4. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  5. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  6. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  7. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  8. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  9. We're on a ________________ here.
  10. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  11. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  12. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  13. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  14. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  15. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  16. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  17. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  18. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  19. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  20. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  21. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  22. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  23. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  24. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  2. fall — to drop
  3. rock — music
  4. current — of water
  5. roll — a list
  6. bark — of a tree
  7. roll — a cake
  8. straw — to clutch at straws
  9. roll — on a roll
  10. kid — to tease
  11. straw — dry grass
  12. fall — to drop
  13. fall — the season
  14. current — electric
  15. wave — of the sea
  16. current — happening now
  17. bark — to shout
  18. straw — a straw man
  19. wave — with your hand
  20. rock — a stone
  21. rock — to move gently
  22. wave — a sudden rise
  23. bark — a dog's sound
  24. kid — child

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