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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 120 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. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  2. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  3. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  4. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  5. He works in a ________________ mill.
  6. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  7. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  8. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  9. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  10. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  11. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  12. She's very handy with a ________________.
  13. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  14. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  15. The ________________ went through the wall.
  16. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  17. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  18. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  19. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  20. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  21. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  22. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  23. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  24. I would like to have a ________________ here.

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

Answer key

  1. current — happening now
  2. nail — on a finger
  3. clip — for paper
  4. row — to paddle
  5. saw — the tool
  6. row — a quarrel
  7. clip — to cut
  8. rest — what's left
  9. fan — a supporter
  10. row — a line
  11. rest — what's left
  12. saw — the tool
  13. saw — past of 'see'
  14. clip — a video
  15. nail — for a hammer
  16. nail — for a hammer
  17. fan — a supporter
  18. current — electric
  19. wound — an injury
  20. wound — an injury
  21. wound — past of 'wind'
  22. fan — to cool the air
  23. current — of water
  24. rest — a break

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