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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: mine · row · chest · wound · current · dip · calf · cell

  1. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  2. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  3. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  4. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  5. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  6. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  7. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  8. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  9. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  10. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  11. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  12. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  13. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  14. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  15. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  16. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  17. He was locked up in a ________________.
  18. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  19. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  20. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  21. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  22. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  23. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  24. She's sitting on a gold ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. calf — of the leg
  2. current — of water
  3. row — a quarrel
  4. row — to paddle
  5. dip — a sauce
  6. mine — belonging to me
  7. row — a line
  8. dip — to dunk
  9. calf — a young animal
  10. cell — a phone
  11. cell — in biology
  12. dip — to sink
  13. wound — past of 'wind'
  14. wound — an injury
  15. chest — a box
  16. chest — of your body
  17. cell — in a prison
  18. current — electric
  19. wound — an injury
  20. mine — an explosive
  21. calf — a young animal
  22. chest — of your body
  23. current — happening now
  24. mine — for digging

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