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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: leaves · clip · current · scale · hand · mine · wake · firm

  1. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  2. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  3. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  4. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  5. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  6. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  7. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  8. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  9. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  10. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  11. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  12. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  13. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  14. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  15. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  16. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  17. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  18. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  19. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  20. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  21. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  22. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  23. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  24. Let us try to swim against the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — for digging
  2. clip — for paper
  3. mine — an explosive
  4. leaves — to go away
  5. hand — help
  6. firm — a company
  7. clip — to cut
  8. wake — to stop sleeping
  9. mine — belonging to me
  10. hand — part of the body
  11. firm — decided
  12. firm — steady
  13. clip — a video
  14. leaves — of a tree
  15. leaves — lets stay
  16. scale — for weighing
  17. current — electric
  18. wake — before a funeral
  19. hand — in cards
  20. wake — a trail
  21. scale — size or range
  22. scale — in music
  23. current — happening now
  24. current — of water

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