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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. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  2. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  3. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  4. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  5. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  6. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  7. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  8. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  9. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  10. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  11. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  12. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  13. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  14. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  15. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  16. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  17. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  18. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  19. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  20. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  21. How do you ________________ your surname?
  22. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  23. There's no middle ________________.
  24. Hold the papers together with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — to cut
  2. face — part of the head
  3. wave — a sudden rise
  4. current — of water
  5. field — a subject
  6. field — for sport
  7. clip — a video
  8. band — a rubber band
  9. band — a ring
  10. current — electric
  11. current — happening now
  12. spell — a short time
  13. ground — crushed
  14. ground — the earth
  15. band — a music group
  16. spell — magic
  17. face — to confront
  18. wave — of the sea
  19. field — farmland
  20. face — to point toward
  21. spell — letters
  22. wave — with your hand
  23. ground — a position
  24. clip — for paper

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