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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. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  2. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  3. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  4. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  5. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  6. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  7. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  8. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  9. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  10. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  11. You don't need to ________________ round.
  12. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  13. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  14. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  15. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  16. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  17. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  18. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  19. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  20. Have you settled on a ________________?
  21. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  22. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  23. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  24. We're almost out of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mouse — for a computer
  2. date — on the calendar
  3. jam — to spread on bread
  4. current — happening now
  5. stick — a piece of wood
  6. current — of water
  7. pop — music
  8. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  9. clip — to cut
  10. mouse — the animal
  11. pop — to visit
  12. date — the fruit
  13. clip — for paper
  14. jam — in traffic
  15. kid — child
  16. kid — to tease
  17. mouse — the animal
  18. stick — a piece of wood
  19. jam — a tight spot
  20. date — on the calendar
  21. clip — a video
  22. stick — to attach or keep to
  23. current — electric
  24. pop — soda

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