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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. We're almost out of ________________.
  2. When are we going to ________________?
  3. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  4. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  5. You don't need to ________________ round.
  6. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  7. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  8. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  9. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  10. The ________________ went through the wall.
  11. There's no middle ________________.
  12. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  13. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  14. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  15. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  16. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  17. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  18. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  19. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  20. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  21. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  22. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  23. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  24. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.

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

Answer key

  1. pop — soda
  2. land — to come down
  3. current — happening now
  4. ground — crushed
  5. pop — to visit
  6. tear — to rip
  7. clip — to cut
  8. current — of water
  9. land — ground
  10. nail — for a hammer
  11. ground — a position
  12. fan — a supporter
  13. nail — on a finger
  14. clip — a video
  15. land — a country
  16. current — electric
  17. nail — for a hammer
  18. fan — a supporter
  19. tear — from crying
  20. fan — to cool the air
  21. tear — from crying
  22. clip — for paper
  23. ground — the earth
  24. pop — music

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