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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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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  2. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  3. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  4. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  5. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  6. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  7. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  8. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  9. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  10. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  11. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  12. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  13. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  14. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  15. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  16. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  17. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  18. Let us try to swim against the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. current — happening now
  2. clip — to cut
  3. clip — a video
  4. current — electric
  5. pit — a hole
  6. straw — to clutch at straws
  7. club — for dancing
  8. club — for golf
  9. pit — a fruit stone
  10. club — a group
  11. straw — dry grass
  12. pit — in a race
  13. straw — a straw man
  14. hand — part of the body
  15. hand — help
  16. hand — in cards
  17. clip — for paper
  18. current — of water

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