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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: wind · clip · fine · kick · current · straw · coach · file

  1. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  2. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  3. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  4. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  5. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  6. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  7. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  8. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  9. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  10. Have you met the new head ________________?
  11. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  12. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  13. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  14. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  15. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  16. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  17. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  18. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  19. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  20. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  21. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  22. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  23. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  24. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?

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

Answer key

  1. file — a line of people
  2. current — electric
  3. wind — moving air
  4. clip — for paper
  5. wind — moving air
  6. current — happening now
  7. fine — a penalty
  8. current — of water
  9. file — a tool
  10. coach — a trainer
  11. fine — all right
  12. kick — a thrill
  13. straw — a straw man
  14. file — a document
  15. fine — high quality
  16. coach — a trainer
  17. clip — to cut
  18. wind — to turn a key
  19. kick — with a leg
  20. clip — a video
  21. kick — in football
  22. straw — dry grass
  23. straw — to clutch at straws
  24. coach — pulled by horses

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