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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: bass · tear · pitcher · march · clip · current · fork · root

  1. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  2. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  3. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  4. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  5. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  6. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  7. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  8. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  9. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  10. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  11. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  12. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  13. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  14. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  15. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  16. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  17. He is an ace ________________.
  18. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  19. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  20. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  21. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  22. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  23. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  24. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — to rip
  2. bass — the instrument
  3. tear — from crying
  4. current — electric
  5. current — of water
  6. fork — in a road
  7. pitcher — a jug
  8. clip — a video
  9. root — of a word
  10. bass — low music
  11. tear — from crying
  12. pitcher — a jug
  13. current — happening now
  14. march — the month
  15. fork — to eat with
  16. bass — the fish
  17. pitcher — in baseball
  18. march — the month
  19. root — of a plant
  20. root — the cause
  21. march — music
  22. clip — for paper
  23. clip — to cut
  24. fork — a garden tool

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