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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. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  2. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  3. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  4. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  5. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  6. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  7. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  8. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  9. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  10. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  11. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  12. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  13. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  14. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  15. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  16. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  17. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  18. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — to turn a key
  2. clip — to cut
  3. current — happening now
  4. degree — an amount
  5. current — of water
  6. straw — a straw man
  7. degree — temperature
  8. lean — to bend
  9. straw — to clutch at straws
  10. clip — for paper
  11. degree — from a university
  12. wind — moving air
  13. lean — to rest against
  14. straw — dry grass
  15. clip — a video
  16. wind — moving air
  17. lean — thin
  18. current — electric

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