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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: wake · current · clip · jam · hide · fork · saw · cold

  1. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  2. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  3. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  4. She's very handy with a ________________.
  5. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  6. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  7. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  8. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  9. He works in a ________________ mill.
  10. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  11. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  12. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  13. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  14. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  15. The water is too ________________.
  16. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  17. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  18. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  19. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  20. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  21. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  22. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  23. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  24. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.

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

Answer key

  1. wake — to stop sleeping
  2. fork — a garden tool
  3. clip — a video
  4. saw — the tool
  5. wake — before a funeral
  6. wake — a trail
  7. hide — animal skin
  8. cold — the Cold War
  9. saw — the tool
  10. fork — in a road
  11. jam — a tight spot
  12. saw — past of 'see'
  13. current — happening now
  14. current — of water
  15. cold — not warm
  16. current — electric
  17. jam — to spread on bread
  18. hide — to keep secret
  19. hide — to keep secret
  20. clip — to cut
  21. jam — in traffic
  22. cold — an illness
  23. clip — for paper
  24. fork — to eat with

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