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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. I'll be taking the ________________.
  2. The ________________ went through the wall.
  3. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  4. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  5. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  6. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  7. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  8. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  9. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  10. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  11. It's one o'clock ________________.
  12. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  13. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  14. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  15. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  16. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  17. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  18. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  19. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  20. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  21. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  22. When are we going to ________________?
  23. Don't do anything ________________.
  24. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. tube — the underground
  2. nail — for a hammer
  3. clip — to cut
  4. clip — for paper
  5. present — the time now
  6. nail — on a finger
  7. rash — on the skin
  8. current — happening now
  9. present — a gift
  10. clip — a video
  11. sharp — exactly
  12. land — ground
  13. tube — in a tire
  14. tube — a container
  15. sharp — with an edge
  16. land — a country
  17. present — there
  18. nail — for a hammer
  19. sharp — clever
  20. current — of water
  21. rash — a series
  22. land — to come down
  23. rash — hasty
  24. current — electric

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