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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: current · fork · clip · court · band · bass · saw · calf

  1. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  2. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  3. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  4. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  5. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  6. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  7. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  8. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  9. He works in a ________________ mill.
  10. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  11. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  12. The ball is in your ________________.
  13. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  14. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  15. She's very handy with a ________________.
  16. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  17. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  18. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  19. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  20. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  21. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  22. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  23. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  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. court — of law
  2. current — of water
  3. current — electric
  4. fork — to eat with
  5. fork — in a road
  6. calf — of the leg
  7. band — a music group
  8. calf — a young animal
  9. saw — the tool
  10. band — a rubber band
  11. clip — a video
  12. court — for sport
  13. bass — the instrument
  14. calf — a young animal
  15. saw — the tool
  16. saw — past of 'see'
  17. bass — the fish
  18. clip — for paper
  19. court — of a king
  20. bass — low music
  21. band — a ring
  22. fork — a garden tool
  23. current — happening now
  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