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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: staff · clip · current · present · leaves · last · swing · bark

  1. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  2. David sat on the ________________.
  3. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  4. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  5. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  6. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  7. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  8. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  9. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  10. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  11. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  12. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  13. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  14. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  15. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  16. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  17. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  18. False peace will not ________________.
  19. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  20. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  21. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  22. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  23. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  24. Let us try to swim against the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bark — to shout
  2. swing — to play on
  3. clip — to cut
  4. present — there
  5. bark — a dog's sound
  6. staff — employees
  7. bark — of a tree
  8. current — electric
  9. last — final
  10. clip — a video
  11. clip — for paper
  12. current — happening now
  13. leaves — of a tree
  14. present — a gift
  15. staff — employees
  16. last — finally
  17. present — the time now
  18. last — to go on
  19. staff — a stick
  20. leaves — lets stay
  21. leaves — to go away
  22. swing — in golf
  23. swing — music
  24. current — of water

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