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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: content · track · season · wound · clip · saw · wax · current

  1. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  2. Did you ________________ the meat?
  3. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  4. He works in a ________________ mill.
  5. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  6. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  7. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  8. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  9. She's very handy with a ________________.
  10. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  11. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  12. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  13. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  14. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  15. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  16. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  17. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  18. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  19. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  20. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  21. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  22. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  23. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  24. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. current — happening now
  2. season — to add flavour
  3. content — the amount
  4. saw — the tool
  5. wound — an injury
  6. track — to keep track
  7. saw — past of 'see'
  8. wax — for sculpting
  9. saw — the tool
  10. current — of water
  11. content — happy
  12. wax — to grow
  13. clip — to cut
  14. wound — past of 'wind'
  15. track — a path
  16. track — a song
  17. season — in sport
  18. season — of the year
  19. clip — for paper
  20. wound — an injury
  21. content — videos and posts
  22. clip — a video
  23. wax — in the ear
  24. current — electric

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