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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. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  2. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  3. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  4. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  5. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  6. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  7. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  8. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  9. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  10. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  11. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  12. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  13. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  14. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  15. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  16. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  17. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  18. There's no middle ________________.
  19. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  20. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  21. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  22. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  23. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  24. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. current — happening now
  2. clip — for paper
  3. safe — out of danger
  4. wound — an injury
  5. current — of water
  6. ground — crushed
  7. safe — a strongbox
  8. ground — the earth
  9. present — a gift
  10. wound — past of 'wind'
  11. kick — a thrill
  12. hand — in cards
  13. wound — an injury
  14. hand — help
  15. clip — a video
  16. clip — to cut
  17. hand — part of the body
  18. ground — a position
  19. kick — in football
  20. present — the time now
  21. kick — with a leg
  22. present — there
  23. safe — out of danger
  24. current — electric

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