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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. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  2. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  3. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  4. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  5. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  6. He is an ace ________________.
  7. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  8. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  9. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  10. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  11. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  12. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  13. When are we going to ________________?
  14. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  15. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  16. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  17. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  18. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  19. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  20. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  21. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  22. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  23. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  24. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.

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

Answer key

  1. can — to be able to
  2. mine — an explosive
  3. mine — for digging
  4. wake — a trail
  5. clip — a video
  6. pitcher — in baseball
  7. pitcher — a jug
  8. pitcher — a jug
  9. wake — before a funeral
  10. can — a tin
  11. can — a tin
  12. land — ground
  13. land — to come down
  14. current — happening now
  15. land — a country
  16. clip — to cut
  17. current — electric
  18. clip — for paper
  19. mine — belonging to me
  20. mark — a grade
  21. mark — a trace
  22. mark — to pay attention
  23. current — of water
  24. wake — to stop sleeping

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