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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: clip · kid · bear · rush · file · cell · current · mark

  1. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  2. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  3. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  4. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  5. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  6. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  7. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  8. He was locked up in a ________________.
  9. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  10. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  11. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  12. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  13. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  14. That must've been a ________________.
  15. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  16. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  17. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  18. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  19. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  20. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  21. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  22. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  23. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  24. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — to cut
  2. mark — to pay attention
  3. clip — a video
  4. file — a tool
  5. current — happening now
  6. kid — child
  7. cell — a phone
  8. cell — in a prison
  9. kid — to tease
  10. cell — in biology
  11. file — a line of people
  12. current — of water
  13. bear — the animal
  14. rush — a thrill
  15. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  16. rush — to hurry
  17. mark — a grade
  18. rush — hurry
  19. bear — the animal
  20. mark — a trace
  21. clip — for paper
  22. file — a document
  23. bear — to put up with
  24. current — electric

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