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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: bear · clip · file · saw · stem · mine · roll · current

  1. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  2. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  3. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  4. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  5. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  6. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  7. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  8. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  9. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  10. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  11. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  12. He works in a ________________ mill.
  13. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  14. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  15. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  16. She's very handy with a ________________.
  17. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  18. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  19. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  20. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  21. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  22. We're on a ________________ here.
  23. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  24. A black ________________ roamed the forest.

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

Answer key

  1. bear — the animal
  2. roll — a list
  3. current — happening now
  4. mine — belonging to me
  5. bear — to put up with
  6. mine — for digging
  7. clip — for paper
  8. clip — to cut
  9. stem — a stem cell
  10. mine — an explosive
  11. file — a document
  12. saw — the tool
  13. saw — past of 'see'
  14. file — a line of people
  15. stem — of a plant
  16. saw — the tool
  17. roll — a cake
  18. stem — to come from
  19. current — electric
  20. clip — a video
  21. file — a tool
  22. roll — on a roll
  23. current — of water
  24. bear — the animal

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