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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.

Words on the sheet
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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: last · root · wind · clip · club · net · current · row

  1. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  2. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  3. False peace will not ________________.
  4. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  5. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  6. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  7. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  8. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  9. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  10. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  11. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  12. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  13. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  14. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  15. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  16. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  17. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  18. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  19. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  20. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  21. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  22. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  23. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  24. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — moving air
  2. clip — to cut
  3. last — to go on
  4. last — final
  5. club — a group
  6. net — for catching
  7. net — after costs
  8. row — a quarrel
  9. club — for dancing
  10. clip — for paper
  11. clip — a video
  12. root — the cause
  13. current — happening now
  14. root — of a plant
  15. row — a line
  16. current — of water
  17. net — in sport
  18. row — to paddle
  19. wind — moving air
  20. wind — to turn a key
  21. last — finally
  22. club — for golf
  23. current — electric
  24. root — of a word

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