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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: row · tube · clip · wound · club · mark · current · roll

  1. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  2. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  3. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  4. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  5. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  6. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  7. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  8. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  9. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  10. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  11. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  12. We're on a ________________ here.
  13. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  14. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  15. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  16. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  17. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  18. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  19. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  20. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  21. I'll be taking the ________________.
  22. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  23. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  24. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.

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

Answer key

  1. current — happening now
  2. tube — a container
  3. current — electric
  4. clip — to cut
  5. clip — a video
  6. club — a group
  7. wound — an injury
  8. row — a line
  9. mark — a grade
  10. mark — a trace
  11. club — for golf
  12. roll — on a roll
  13. roll — a cake
  14. roll — a list
  15. row — a quarrel
  16. current — of water
  17. mark — to pay attention
  18. wound — an injury
  19. clip — for paper
  20. row — to paddle
  21. tube — the underground
  22. wound — past of 'wind'
  23. club — for dancing
  24. tube — in a tire

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