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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: land · kick · stick · temple · present · wound · current · straw

  1. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  2. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  3. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  4. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  5. When was this ________________ built?
  6. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  7. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  8. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  9. When are we going to ________________?
  10. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  11. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  12. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  13. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  14. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  15. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  16. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  17. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  18. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  19. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  20. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  21. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  22. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  23. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  24. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. present — there
  2. current — electric
  3. present — the time now
  4. current — of water
  5. temple — a place of worship
  6. land — ground
  7. wound — an injury
  8. temple — side of the head
  9. land — to come down
  10. wound — past of 'wind'
  11. straw — dry grass
  12. kick — with a leg
  13. stick — to attach or keep to
  14. stick — a piece of wood
  15. present — a gift
  16. temple — a place of worship
  17. current — happening now
  18. land — a country
  19. straw — a straw man
  20. kick — in football
  21. wound — an injury
  22. kick — a thrill
  23. straw — to clutch at straws
  24. stick — a piece of wood

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