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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: bear · rush · bat · net · current · clip · key · arm

  1. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  2. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  3. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  4. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  5. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  6. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  7. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  8. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  9. This piece is in a major ________________.
  10. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  11. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  12. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  13. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  14. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  15. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  16. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  17. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  18. That must've been a ________________.
  19. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  20. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  21. My father caught me by the ________________.
  22. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  23. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  24. He took the fish out of the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. arm — a part of something
  2. bear — to put up with
  3. clip — a video
  4. bat — the animal
  5. key — for a lock
  6. clip — to cut
  7. net — in sport
  8. current — electric
  9. key — in music
  10. rush — to hurry
  11. current — of water
  12. bear — the animal
  13. clip — for paper
  14. key — the most important part
  15. rush — hurry
  16. bat — for baseball
  17. bear — the animal
  18. rush — a thrill
  19. arm — part of the body
  20. net — after costs
  21. arm — part of the body
  22. bat — in an idiom
  23. current — happening now
  24. net — for catching

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