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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: land · clip · current · pit · rock · craft · content · cold

  1. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  2. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  3. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  4. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  5. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  6. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  7. When are we going to ________________?
  8. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  9. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  10. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  11. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  12. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  13. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  14. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  15. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  16. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  17. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  18. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  19. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  20. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  21. The water is too ________________.
  22. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  23. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  24. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.

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

Answer key

  1. current — happening now
  2. land — a country
  3. cold — an illness
  4. rock — music
  5. clip — for paper
  6. craft — a skill
  7. land — to come down
  8. rock — a stone
  9. current — of water
  10. rock — to move gently
  11. clip — to cut
  12. pit — a hole
  13. land — ground
  14. content — happy
  15. content — the amount
  16. clip — a video
  17. pit — a fruit stone
  18. current — electric
  19. pit — in a race
  20. content — videos and posts
  21. cold — not warm
  22. cold — the Cold War
  23. craft — a handicraft
  24. craft — boats

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