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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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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: current · wind · sharp · pop · snap · board · rush · bat

  1. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  2. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  3. That must've been a ________________.
  4. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  5. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  6. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  7. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  8. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  9. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  10. We're almost out of ________________.
  11. It's one o'clock ________________.
  12. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  13. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  14. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  15. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  16. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  17. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  18. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  19. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  20. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  21. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  22. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  23. You don't need to ________________ round.
  24. Let us try to swim against the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — moving air
  2. pop — music
  3. rush — a thrill
  4. snap — to click
  5. sharp — clever
  6. rush — to hurry
  7. snap — to snap out of it
  8. wind — to turn a key
  9. board — to get on
  10. pop — soda
  11. sharp — exactly
  12. bat — for baseball
  13. wind — moving air
  14. current — happening now
  15. rush — hurry
  16. bat — in an idiom
  17. current — electric
  18. board — a committee
  19. sharp — with an edge
  20. bat — the animal
  21. snap — to speak sharply
  22. board — a flat piece
  23. pop — to visit
  24. current — of water

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