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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: clip · current · toast · field · nail · staff · pop · kid

  1. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  2. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  3. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  4. You don't need to ________________ round.
  5. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  6. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  7. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  8. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  9. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  10. The ________________ went through the wall.
  11. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  12. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  13. We're almost out of ________________.
  14. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  15. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  16. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  17. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  18. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  19. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  20. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  21. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  22. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  23. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  24. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. toast — a drink to someone
  2. toast — bread
  3. kid — child
  4. pop — to visit
  5. nail — for a hammer
  6. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  7. clip — a video
  8. field — a subject
  9. clip — to cut
  10. nail — for a hammer
  11. pop — music
  12. toast — the most admired
  13. pop — soda
  14. current — electric
  15. current — happening now
  16. kid — to tease
  17. field — farmland
  18. staff — employees
  19. staff — employees
  20. clip — for paper
  21. staff — a stick
  22. nail — on a finger
  23. current — of water
  24. field — for sport

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