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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. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  2. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  3. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  4. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  5. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  6. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  7. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  8. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  9. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  10. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  11. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  12. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  13. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  14. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  15. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  16. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  17. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  18. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  19. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  20. When are we going to ________________?
  21. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  22. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  23. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  24. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — for paper
  2. clip — to cut
  3. craft — a skill
  4. can — a tin
  5. current — of water
  6. prune — to trim
  7. club — for golf
  8. land — a country
  9. craft — a handicraft
  10. land — ground
  11. snap — to speak sharply
  12. prune — the fruit
  13. club — a group
  14. current — happening now
  15. can — to be able to
  16. clip — a video
  17. prune — to trim
  18. club — for dancing
  19. craft — boats
  20. land — to come down
  21. current — electric
  22. snap — to snap out of it
  23. can — a tin
  24. snap — to click

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