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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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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: nail · tear · clip · club · current · band · staff · net

  1. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  2. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  3. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  4. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  5. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  6. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  7. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  8. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  9. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  10. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  11. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  12. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  13. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  14. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  15. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  16. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  17. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  18. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  19. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  20. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  21. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  22. The ________________ went through the wall.
  23. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  24. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — to rip
  2. band — a ring
  3. tear — from crying
  4. band — a music group
  5. net — in sport
  6. staff — a stick
  7. staff — employees
  8. net — after costs
  9. current — of water
  10. clip — to cut
  11. current — electric
  12. club — for golf
  13. nail — for a hammer
  14. clip — a video
  15. net — for catching
  16. club — for dancing
  17. clip — for paper
  18. nail — on a finger
  19. current — happening now
  20. band — a rubber band
  21. tear — from crying
  22. nail — for a hammer
  23. club — a group
  24. staff — employees

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