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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: file · row · sharp · swing · kid · mug · clip · current

  1. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  2. David sat on the ________________.
  3. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  4. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  5. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  6. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  7. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  8. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  9. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  10. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  11. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  12. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  13. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  14. It's one o'clock ________________.
  15. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  16. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  17. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  18. Where did you ________________ them?
  19. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  20. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  21. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  22. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  23. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  24. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — a video
  2. swing — to play on
  3. kid — child
  4. row — a line
  5. mug — a face
  6. current — happening now
  7. swing — in golf
  8. row — a quarrel
  9. row — to paddle
  10. current — electric
  11. swing — music
  12. file — a document
  13. file — a line of people
  14. sharp — exactly
  15. clip — to cut
  16. sharp — clever
  17. kid — to tease
  18. mug — to rob
  19. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  20. clip — for paper
  21. current — of water
  22. sharp — with an edge
  23. mug — a cup
  24. file — a tool

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