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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: pound · clip · craft · track · rule · current · pop · row

  1. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  2. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  3. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  4. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  5. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  6. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  7. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  8. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  9. You don't need to ________________ round.
  10. We're almost out of ________________.
  11. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  12. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  13. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  14. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  15. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  16. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  17. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  18. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  19. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  20. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  21. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  22. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  23. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  24. He keeps ________________ of his days.

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

Answer key

  1. row — a quarrel
  2. rule — to rule out
  3. rule — a law
  4. row — to paddle
  5. pop — music
  6. current — of water
  7. track — a path
  8. clip — to cut
  9. pop — to visit
  10. pop — soda
  11. craft — a handicraft
  12. pound — for dogs
  13. rule — government
  14. row — a line
  15. track — a song
  16. clip — a video
  17. current — happening now
  18. craft — boats
  19. clip — for paper
  20. current — electric
  21. pound — to hit hard
  22. pound — a weight
  23. craft — a skill
  24. track — to keep track

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