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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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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: current · ball · content · season · mug · ruler · clip · wound

  1. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  2. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  3. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  4. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  5. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  6. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  7. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  8. Where did you ________________ them?
  9. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  10. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  11. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  12. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  13. The King held a masked ________________.
  14. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  15. Did you ________________ the meat?
  16. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  17. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  18. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  19. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  20. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  21. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  22. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  23. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  24. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.

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

Answer key

  1. ball — a round shape
  2. wound — an injury
  3. content — happy
  4. current — electric
  5. season — of the year
  6. clip — for paper
  7. season — in sport
  8. mug — to rob
  9. current — of water
  10. mug — a cup
  11. current — happening now
  12. content — the amount
  13. ball — a dance
  14. mug — a face
  15. season — to add flavour
  16. clip — to cut
  17. ball — a great time
  18. wound — past of 'wind'
  19. content — videos and posts
  20. wound — an injury
  21. ruler — a monarch
  22. ruler — for measuring
  23. clip — a video
  24. ruler — for measuring

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