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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 120 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. She's very handy with a ________________.
  2. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  3. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  4. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  5. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  6. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  7. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  8. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  9. David sat on the ________________.
  10. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  11. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  12. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  13. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  14. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  15. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  16. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  17. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  18. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  19. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  20. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  21. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  22. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  23. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  24. He works in a ________________ mill.

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

Answer key

  1. saw — the tool
  2. clip — for paper
  3. current — electric
  4. wax — for sculpting
  5. track — to keep track
  6. saw — past of 'see'
  7. track — a song
  8. wax — in the ear
  9. swing — to play on
  10. clip — to cut
  11. current — of water
  12. rest — a break
  13. object — a thing
  14. current — happening now
  15. wax — to grow
  16. swing — in golf
  17. swing — music
  18. object — to protest
  19. object — an aim
  20. track — a path
  21. rest — what's left
  22. rest — what's left
  23. clip — a video
  24. saw — the tool

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