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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: clip · kick · wax · sharp · club · fan · fork · current

  1. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  2. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  3. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  4. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  5. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  6. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  7. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  8. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  9. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  10. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  11. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  12. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  13. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  14. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  15. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  16. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  17. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  18. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  19. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  20. It's one o'clock ________________.
  21. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  22. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  23. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  24. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?

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

Answer key

  1. current — happening now
  2. fan — to cool the air
  3. sharp — clever
  4. kick — with a leg
  5. club — a group
  6. clip — to cut
  7. clip — for paper
  8. fan — a supporter
  9. club — for dancing
  10. fork — to eat with
  11. current — of water
  12. wax — to grow
  13. club — for golf
  14. wax — in the ear
  15. clip — a video
  16. kick — a thrill
  17. fork — in a road
  18. fork — a garden tool
  19. kick — in football
  20. sharp — exactly
  21. sharp — with an edge
  22. wax — for sculpting
  23. current — electric
  24. fan — a supporter

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