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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 120 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: bowl · kick · fall · tear · land · swing · current · bark

  1. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  2. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  3. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  4. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  5. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  6. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  7. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  8. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  9. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  10. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  11. David sat on the ________________.
  12. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  13. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  14. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  15. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  16. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  17. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  18. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  19. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  20. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  21. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  22. When are we going to ________________?
  23. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  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. current — of water
  2. fall — to drop
  3. tear — from crying
  4. current — happening now
  5. kick — a thrill
  6. bowl — a football final
  7. swing — in golf
  8. land — a country
  9. bark — to shout
  10. bark — of a tree
  11. swing — to play on
  12. bark — a dog's sound
  13. kick — with a leg
  14. fall — to drop
  15. swing — music
  16. tear — from crying
  17. current — electric
  18. tear — to rip
  19. bowl — to roll
  20. land — ground
  21. bowl — a dish
  22. land — to come down
  23. fall — the season
  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