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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. She's very handy with a ________________.
  2. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  3. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  4. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  5. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  6. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  7. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  8. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  9. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  10. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  11. Don't do anything ________________.
  12. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  13. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  14. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  15. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  16. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  17. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  18. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  19. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  20. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  21. He works in a ________________ mill.
  22. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  23. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  24. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.

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

Answer key

  1. saw — the tool
  2. current — happening now
  3. present — the time now
  4. wound — an injury
  5. present — there
  6. leaves — to go away
  7. leaves — lets stay
  8. clip — to cut
  9. rash — a series
  10. clip — for paper
  11. rash — hasty
  12. rash — on the skin
  13. clip — a video
  14. leaves — of a tree
  15. wound — an injury
  16. present — a gift
  17. current — of water
  18. current — electric
  19. craft — a skill
  20. wound — past of 'wind'
  21. saw — the tool
  22. craft — boats
  23. craft — a handicraft
  24. saw — past of 'see'

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