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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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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: kick · bark · wake · current · row · mouse · chip · clip

  1. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  2. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  3. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  4. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  5. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  6. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  7. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  8. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  9. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  10. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  11. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  12. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  13. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  14. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  15. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  16. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  17. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  18. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  19. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  20. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  21. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  22. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  23. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  24. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.

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

Answer key

  1. kick — in football
  2. kick — a thrill
  3. row — to paddle
  4. current — happening now
  5. wake — a trail
  6. chip — to eat
  7. clip — a video
  8. bark — of a tree
  9. mouse — the animal
  10. row — a line
  11. clip — for paper
  12. row — a quarrel
  13. clip — to cut
  14. bark — to shout
  15. chip — for betting
  16. wake — to stop sleeping
  17. mouse — the animal
  18. current — of water
  19. current — electric
  20. mouse — for a computer
  21. kick — with a leg
  22. chip — in a computer
  23. wake — before a funeral
  24. bark — a dog's sound

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