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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 116 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. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  3. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  4. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  5. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  6. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  7. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  8. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  9. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  10. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  11. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  12. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  13. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  14. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  15. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  16. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  17. When are we going to ________________?
  18. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  19. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  20. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  21. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  22. Don't do anything ________________.
  23. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  24. Let us try to swim against the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — to cut
  2. deal — to handle
  3. fork — a garden tool
  4. rash — on the skin
  5. current — happening now
  6. land — a country
  7. shower — a meteor shower
  8. deal — a big deal
  9. clip — for paper
  10. rash — a series
  11. band — a music group
  12. clip — a video
  13. current — electric
  14. fork — in a road
  15. deal — an agreement
  16. land — ground
  17. land — to come down
  18. band — a ring
  19. fork — to eat with
  20. shower — rain
  21. shower — to wash
  22. rash — hasty
  23. band — a rubber band
  24. current — of water

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