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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. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  2. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  3. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  4. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  5. There's no middle ________________.
  6. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  7. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  8. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  9. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  10. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  11. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  12. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  13. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  14. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  15. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  16. Have you met the new head ________________?
  17. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  18. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  19. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  20. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  21. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  22. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  23. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  24. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. current — happening now
  2. present — a gift
  3. file — a document
  4. file — a line of people
  5. ground — a position
  6. current — electric
  7. file — a tool
  8. clip — a video
  9. ground — the earth
  10. perch — for a bird
  11. present — there
  12. band — a rubber band
  13. perch — the fish
  14. present — the time now
  15. band — a ring
  16. coach — a trainer
  17. current — of water
  18. clip — for paper
  19. coach — pulled by horses
  20. band — a music group
  21. ground — crushed
  22. coach — a trainer
  23. clip — to cut
  24. perch — for a bird

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