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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. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  2. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  3. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  4. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  5. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  6. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  7. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  8. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  9. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  10. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  11. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  12. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  13. When are we going to ________________?
  14. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  15. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  16. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  17. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  18. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  19. Don't do anything ________________.
  20. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  21. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  22. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  23. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  24. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. club — for golf
  2. current — happening now
  3. land — ground
  4. current — electric
  5. mine — belonging to me
  6. snap — to speak sharply
  7. snap — to click
  8. rash — a series
  9. club — for dancing
  10. snap — to snap out of it
  11. clip — to cut
  12. firm — steady
  13. land — to come down
  14. firm — decided
  15. current — of water
  16. rash — on the skin
  17. mine — for digging
  18. clip — a video
  19. rash — hasty
  20. mine — an explosive
  21. club — a group
  22. clip — for paper
  23. land — a country
  24. firm — a company

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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