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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: fork · fine · wound · file · clip · bore · mate · current

  1. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  2. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  3. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  4. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  5. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  6. Have you found your soul ________________?
  7. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  8. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  9. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  10. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  11. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  12. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  13. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  14. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  15. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  16. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  17. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  18. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  19. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  20. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  21. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  22. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  23. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  24. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — past of 'wind'
  2. clip — a video
  3. clip — to cut
  4. current — electric
  5. mate — to breed
  6. mate — a partner
  7. fork — a garden tool
  8. fine — a penalty
  9. bore — to drill
  10. file — a line of people
  11. fork — to eat with
  12. mate — a friend
  13. fine — all right
  14. bore — to tire
  15. file — a tool
  16. current — of water
  17. clip — for paper
  18. current — happening now
  19. file — a document
  20. bore — gave birth
  21. wound — an injury
  22. fine — high quality
  23. wound — an injury
  24. fork — in a road

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