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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 · net · sharp · current · game · hand · scale · lean

  1. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  2. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  3. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  4. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  5. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  6. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  7. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  8. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  9. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  10. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  11. That was a fun ________________.
  12. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  13. It's one o'clock ________________.
  14. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  15. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  16. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  17. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  18. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  19. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  20. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  21. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  22. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  23. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  24. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.

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

Answer key

  1. current — of water
  2. scale — size or range
  3. lean — to rest against
  4. net — for catching
  5. lean — thin
  6. net — in sport
  7. current — electric
  8. hand — help
  9. lean — to bend
  10. clip — for paper
  11. game — a match
  12. game — a kind of play
  13. sharp — exactly
  14. current — happening now
  15. clip — a video
  16. scale — for weighing
  17. game — wild animals
  18. hand — part of the body
  19. sharp — with an edge
  20. hand — in cards
  21. net — after costs
  22. scale — in music
  23. sharp — clever
  24. clip — to cut

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