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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.

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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: land · clip · last · sharp · mine · current · lash · key

  1. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  2. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  3. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  4. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  5. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  6. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  7. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  8. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  9. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  10. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  11. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  12. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  13. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  14. False peace will not ________________.
  15. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  16. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  17. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  18. When are we going to ________________?
  19. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  20. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  21. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  22. It's one o'clock ________________.
  23. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  24. This piece is in a major ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. land — ground
  2. lash — a whip stroke
  3. sharp — clever
  4. clip — for paper
  5. clip — a video
  6. current — of water
  7. sharp — with an edge
  8. lash — an eyelash
  9. clip — to cut
  10. mine — an explosive
  11. last — finally
  12. current — happening now
  13. lash — to lash out
  14. last — to go on
  15. last — final
  16. key — for a lock
  17. key — the most important part
  18. land — to come down
  19. current — electric
  20. mine — for digging
  21. land — a country
  22. sharp — exactly
  23. mine — belonging to me
  24. key — in music

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