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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: clip · net · ground · current · land · rash · key · fall

  1. When are we going to ________________?
  2. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  3. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  4. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  5. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  6. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  7. Don't do anything ________________.
  8. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  9. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  10. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  11. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  12. This piece is in a major ________________.
  13. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  14. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  15. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  16. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  17. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  18. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  19. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  20. There's no middle ________________.
  21. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  22. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  23. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  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. land — to come down
  2. key — the most important part
  3. current — of water
  4. clip — for paper
  5. net — in sport
  6. net — for catching
  7. rash — hasty
  8. fall — to drop
  9. clip — a video
  10. net — after costs
  11. current — happening now
  12. key — in music
  13. ground — crushed
  14. fall — the season
  15. fall — to drop
  16. current — electric
  17. ground — the earth
  18. land — ground
  19. rash — a series
  20. ground — a position
  21. rash — on the skin
  22. key — for a lock
  23. land — a country
  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