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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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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: land · pop · wound · clip · suit · bear · ball · current

  1. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  2. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  3. We're almost out of ________________.
  4. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  5. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  6. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  7. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  8. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  9. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  10. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  11. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  12. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  13. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  14. You don't need to ________________ round.
  15. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  16. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  17. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  18. The King held a masked ________________.
  19. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  20. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  21. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  22. When are we going to ________________?
  23. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  24. When will it ________________ you to start?

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

Answer key

  1. suit — in cards
  2. ball — a great time
  3. pop — soda
  4. wound — an injury
  5. bear — the animal
  6. clip — a video
  7. pop — music
  8. land — a country
  9. current — of water
  10. current — electric
  11. bear — to put up with
  12. bear — the animal
  13. ball — a round shape
  14. pop — to visit
  15. land — ground
  16. current — happening now
  17. clip — for paper
  18. ball — a dance
  19. clip — to cut
  20. wound — an injury
  21. suit — clothes
  22. land — to come down
  23. wound — past of 'wind'
  24. suit — to fit

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