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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: row · pit · clip · current · band · wax · rule · net

  1. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  2. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  3. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  4. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  5. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  6. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  7. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  8. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  9. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  10. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  11. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  12. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  13. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  14. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  15. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  16. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  17. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  18. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  19. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  20. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  21. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  22. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  23. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  24. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a ring
  2. rule — government
  3. clip — to cut
  4. net — for catching
  5. wax — to grow
  6. wax — for sculpting
  7. net — after costs
  8. row — a line
  9. row — to paddle
  10. pit — in a race
  11. rule — to rule out
  12. band — a rubber band
  13. wax — in the ear
  14. clip — for paper
  15. row — a quarrel
  16. pit — a hole
  17. rule — a law
  18. current — of water
  19. clip — a video
  20. net — in sport
  21. current — happening now
  22. pit — a fruit stone
  23. band — a music group
  24. current — electric

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