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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: file · bass · temple · race · current · saw · clip · kick

  1. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  2. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  3. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  4. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  5. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  6. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  7. She's very handy with a ________________.
  8. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  9. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  10. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  11. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  12. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  13. He works in a ________________ mill.
  14. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  15. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  16. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  17. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  18. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  19. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  20. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  21. When was this ________________ built?
  22. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  23. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  24. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. file — a line of people
  2. kick — with a leg
  3. current — happening now
  4. bass — the instrument
  5. file — a tool
  6. current — electric
  7. saw — the tool
  8. current — of water
  9. race — the arms race
  10. bass — low music
  11. race — a contest
  12. bass — the fish
  13. saw — the tool
  14. saw — past of 'see'
  15. kick — in football
  16. clip — a video
  17. clip — to cut
  18. clip — for paper
  19. temple — side of the head
  20. file — a document
  21. temple — a place of worship
  22. temple — a place of worship
  23. kick — a thrill
  24. race — humankind

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