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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: stick · current · chest · mine · pitcher · clip · scale · rush

  1. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  2. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  3. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  4. That must've been a ________________.
  5. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  6. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  7. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  8. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  9. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  10. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  11. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  12. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  13. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  14. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  15. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  16. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  17. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  18. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  19. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  20. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  21. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  22. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  23. He is an ace ________________.
  24. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — a video
  2. mine — an explosive
  3. current — of water
  4. rush — a thrill
  5. rush — to hurry
  6. chest — of your body
  7. current — electric
  8. chest — of your body
  9. clip — for paper
  10. chest — a box
  11. stick — a piece of wood
  12. scale — in music
  13. mine — for digging
  14. stick — to attach or keep to
  15. stick — a piece of wood
  16. pitcher — a jug
  17. scale — for weighing
  18. pitcher — a jug
  19. rush — hurry
  20. current — happening now
  21. mine — belonging to me
  22. scale — size or range
  23. pitcher — in baseball
  24. clip — to cut

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