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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: cap · chest · fork · current · kick · cell · bound · wound

  1. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  2. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  3. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  4. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  5. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  6. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  7. He was locked up in a ________________.
  8. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  9. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  10. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  11. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  12. That was ________________ to happen.
  13. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  14. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  15. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  16. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  17. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  18. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  19. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  20. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  21. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  22. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  23. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  24. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.

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

Answer key

  1. kick — a thrill
  2. kick — with a leg
  3. fork — in a road
  4. current — electric
  5. wound — past of 'wind'
  6. current — of water
  7. cell — in a prison
  8. chest — of your body
  9. kick — in football
  10. fork — to eat with
  11. cap — a lid
  12. bound — certain
  13. wound — an injury
  14. chest — of your body
  15. cap — of ice
  16. fork — a garden tool
  17. wound — an injury
  18. bound — tied together
  19. bound — obliged
  20. cap — a hat
  21. cell — a phone
  22. cell — in biology
  23. current — happening now
  24. chest — a box

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