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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.

Make a worksheet

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: squash · clip · current · bass · kid · chair · present · land

  1. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  2. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  3. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  4. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  5. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  6. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  7. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  8. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  9. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  10. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  11. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  12. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  13. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  14. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  15. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  16. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  17. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  18. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  19. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  20. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  21. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  22. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  23. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  24. When are we going to ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. present — there
  2. current — of water
  3. kid — to tease
  4. current — electric
  5. bass — the fish
  6. land — ground
  7. squash — the sport
  8. bass — low music
  9. chair — to sit on
  10. clip — to cut
  11. current — happening now
  12. kid — child
  13. chair — a professorship
  14. present — a gift
  15. present — the time now
  16. squash — the vegetable
  17. squash — to crush
  18. land — a country
  19. clip — for paper
  20. clip — a video
  21. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  22. bass — the instrument
  23. chair — a leader
  24. land — to come down

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