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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.

Make a worksheet

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
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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: ball · rest · mark · clip · current · bat · wind · land

  1. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  2. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  3. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  4. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  5. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  6. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  7. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  8. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  9. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  10. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  11. The King held a masked ________________.
  12. When are we going to ________________?
  13. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  14. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  15. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  16. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  17. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  18. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  19. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  20. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  21. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  22. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  23. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  24. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.

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

Answer key

  1. current — of water
  2. clip — to cut
  3. current — electric
  4. rest — what's left
  5. mark — a trace
  6. bat — the animal
  7. rest — what's left
  8. bat — in an idiom
  9. clip — for paper
  10. ball — a great time
  11. ball — a dance
  12. land — to come down
  13. clip — a video
  14. wind — to turn a key
  15. ball — a round shape
  16. mark — a grade
  17. wind — moving air
  18. rest — a break
  19. mark — to pay attention
  20. wind — moving air
  21. land — a country
  22. current — happening now
  23. land — ground
  24. bat — for baseball

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