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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. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  2. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  3. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  4. That was a fun ________________.
  5. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  6. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  7. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  8. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  9. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  10. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  11. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  12. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  13. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  14. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  15. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  16. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  17. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  18. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  19. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  20. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  21. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  22. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  23. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  24. She got the top ________________ in the exam.

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

Answer key

  1. mark — to pay attention
  2. file — a tool
  3. can — to be able to
  4. game — a match
  5. game — a kind of play
  6. game — wild animals
  7. current — of water
  8. deal — an agreement
  9. deal — a big deal
  10. deal — to handle
  11. mark — a trace
  12. file — a document
  13. current — electric
  14. bass — the fish
  15. clip — to cut
  16. clip — a video
  17. current — happening now
  18. clip — for paper
  19. can — a tin
  20. bass — the instrument
  21. can — a tin
  22. bass — low music
  23. file — a line of people
  24. mark — a grade

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