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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 116 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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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: fine · cold · track · kick · straw · hand · current · tube

  1. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  2. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  3. I'll be taking the ________________.
  4. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  5. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  6. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  7. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  8. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  9. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  10. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  11. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  12. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  13. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  14. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  15. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  16. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  17. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  18. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  19. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  20. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  21. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  22. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  23. The water is too ________________.
  24. I got dealt a bad ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. track — a path
  2. cold — the Cold War
  3. tube — the underground
  4. fine — high quality
  5. current — of water
  6. hand — help
  7. current — electric
  8. fine — all right
  9. track — a song
  10. tube — in a tire
  11. straw — a straw man
  12. tube — a container
  13. hand — part of the body
  14. straw — dry grass
  15. current — happening now
  16. fine — a penalty
  17. cold — an illness
  18. kick — in football
  19. track — to keep track
  20. kick — a thrill
  21. kick — with a leg
  22. straw — to clutch at straws
  23. cold — not warm
  24. hand — in cards

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