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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: fine · dip · current · fan · clip · sharp · chest · land

  1. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  2. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  3. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  4. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  5. When are we going to ________________?
  6. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  7. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  8. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  9. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  10. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  11. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  12. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  13. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  14. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  15. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  16. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  17. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  18. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  19. It's one o'clock ________________.
  20. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  21. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  22. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  23. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  24. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.

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

Answer key

  1. dip — to sink
  2. fan — a supporter
  3. fine — high quality
  4. current — electric
  5. land — to come down
  6. clip — for paper
  7. fine — a penalty
  8. chest — of your body
  9. sharp — clever
  10. dip — to dunk
  11. current — happening now
  12. fine — all right
  13. sharp — with an edge
  14. dip — a sauce
  15. clip — to cut
  16. land — ground
  17. chest — of your body
  18. fan — a supporter
  19. sharp — exactly
  20. current — of water
  21. fan — to cool the air
  22. clip — a video
  23. chest — a box
  24. land — a country

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