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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. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  3. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  4. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  5. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  6. Don't do anything ________________.
  7. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  8. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  9. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  10. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  11. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  12. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  13. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  14. He was locked up in a ________________.
  15. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  16. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  17. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  18. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  19. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  20. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  21. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  22. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  23. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  24. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. current — happening now
  2. rash — on the skin
  3. clip — for paper
  4. hand — help
  5. cell — in biology
  6. rash — hasty
  7. bear — the animal
  8. bore — to drill
  9. mouse — the animal
  10. bore — gave birth
  11. hand — part of the body
  12. cell — a phone
  13. mouse — for a computer
  14. cell — in a prison
  15. hand — in cards
  16. clip — a video
  17. bear — the animal
  18. rash — a series
  19. clip — to cut
  20. bore — to tire
  21. current — of water
  22. mouse — the animal
  23. bear — to put up with
  24. 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