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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 116 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. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  2. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  3. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  4. How do you ________________ your surname?
  5. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  6. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  7. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  8. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  9. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  10. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  11. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  12. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  13. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  14. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  15. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  16. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  17. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  18. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — to cut
  2. current — of water
  3. present — the time now
  4. spell — letters
  5. net — for catching
  6. current — happening now
  7. trunk — of a car
  8. clip — a video
  9. present — a gift
  10. trunk — of an elephant
  11. current — electric
  12. net — after costs
  13. present — there
  14. spell — magic
  15. trunk — of a tree
  16. net — in sport
  17. clip — for paper
  18. spell — a short time

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