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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 · wind · calf · snap · pop · row · current · tear

  1. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  2. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  3. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  4. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  5. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  6. You don't need to ________________ round.
  7. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  8. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  9. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  10. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  11. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  12. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  13. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  14. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  15. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  16. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  17. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  18. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  19. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  20. We're almost out of ________________.
  21. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  22. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  23. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  24. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — an explosive
  2. row — to paddle
  3. calf — a young animal
  4. calf — a young animal
  5. row — a line
  6. pop — to visit
  7. current — electric
  8. mine — for digging
  9. wind — to turn a key
  10. tear — from crying
  11. row — a quarrel
  12. tear — to rip
  13. mine — belonging to me
  14. tear — from crying
  15. current — of water
  16. current — happening now
  17. wind — moving air
  18. snap — to click
  19. snap — to snap out of it
  20. pop — soda
  21. pop — music
  22. calf — of the leg
  23. snap — to speak sharply
  24. wind — moving air

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