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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 116 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 · cue · land · kid · stem · charge · bound · current

  1. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  2. The tickets are free of ________________.
  3. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  4. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  5. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  6. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  7. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  8. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  9. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  10. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  11. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  12. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  13. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  14. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  15. That was ________________ to happen.
  16. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  17. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  18. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  19. When are we going to ________________?
  20. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  21. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  22. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  23. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  24. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.

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

Answer key

  1. current — happening now
  2. charge — a price
  3. clip — for paper
  4. cue — a signal
  5. bound — obliged
  6. clip — a video
  7. clip — to cut
  8. stem — of a plant
  9. current — of water
  10. stem — to come from
  11. stem — a stem cell
  12. kid — child
  13. cue — for pool
  14. charge — in control
  15. bound — certain
  16. land — ground
  17. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  18. kid — to tease
  19. land — to come down
  20. current — electric
  21. cue — a hint
  22. land — a country
  23. charge — electricity
  24. bound — tied together

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