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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 120 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: content · land · mine · clip · mouse · bear · rest · current

  1. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  2. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  3. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  4. When are we going to ________________?
  5. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  6. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  7. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  8. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  9. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  10. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  11. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  12. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  13. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  14. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  15. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  16. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  17. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  18. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  19. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  20. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  21. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  22. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  23. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  24. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. land — a country
  2. mouse — for a computer
  3. current — of water
  4. land — to come down
  5. clip — to cut
  6. current — electric
  7. land — ground
  8. clip — for paper
  9. content — happy
  10. content — the amount
  11. current — happening now
  12. mouse — the animal
  13. rest — what's left
  14. bear — the animal
  15. mine — for digging
  16. mine — belonging to me
  17. mine — an explosive
  18. rest — what's left
  19. rest — a break
  20. bear — to put up with
  21. bear — the animal
  22. mouse — the animal
  23. content — videos and posts
  24. clip — a video

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