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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. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  2. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  3. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  4. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  5. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  6. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  7. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  8. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  9. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  10. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  11. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  12. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  13. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  14. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  15. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  16. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  17. Have you found your soul ________________?
  18. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  19. Where did you ________________ them?
  20. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  21. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  22. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  23. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  24. He was blown up by a land ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. current — of water
  2. current — happening now
  3. clip — for paper
  4. wound — past of 'wind'
  5. wound — an injury
  6. mug — a cup
  7. clip — a video
  8. drill — the tool
  9. clip — to cut
  10. current — electric
  11. mate — a friend
  12. drill — army training
  13. mate — to breed
  14. band — a ring
  15. mug — a face
  16. drill — a practice
  17. mate — a partner
  18. mine — belonging to me
  19. mug — to rob
  20. mine — for digging
  21. band — a rubber band
  22. band — a music group
  23. wound — an injury
  24. mine — an explosive

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