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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 in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  2. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  3. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  4. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  5. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  6. He works in a ________________ mill.
  7. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  8. When are we going to ________________?
  9. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  10. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  11. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  12. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  13. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  14. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  15. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  16. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  17. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  18. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  19. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  20. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  21. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  22. She's very handy with a ________________.
  23. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  24. We're on a ________________ here.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — to cut
  2. fork — a garden tool
  3. club — a group
  4. club — for dancing
  5. saw — past of 'see'
  6. saw — the tool
  7. drill — a practice
  8. land — to come down
  9. current — electric
  10. roll — a cake
  11. drill — army training
  12. club — for golf
  13. fork — to eat with
  14. roll — a list
  15. clip — a video
  16. current — of water
  17. clip — for paper
  18. land — a country
  19. fork — in a road
  20. land — ground
  21. drill — the tool
  22. saw — the tool
  23. current — happening now
  24. roll — on a roll

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