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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. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  2. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  3. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  4. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  5. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  6. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  7. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  8. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  9. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  10. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  11. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  12. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  13. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  14. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  15. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  16. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  17. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  18. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  19. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  20. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  21. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  22. What do you think of the new ________________?
  23. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  24. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.

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

Answer key

  1. cabinet — ministers
  2. clip — for paper
  3. present — the time now
  4. mine — belonging to me
  5. jam — a tight spot
  6. current — happening now
  7. march — music
  8. hand — in cards
  9. present — a gift
  10. jam — to spread on bread
  11. cabinet — a cupboard
  12. mine — an explosive
  13. hand — help
  14. clip — a video
  15. clip — to cut
  16. march — the month
  17. mine — for digging
  18. current — of water
  19. hand — part of the body
  20. current — electric
  21. present — there
  22. cabinet — ministers
  23. jam — in traffic
  24. march — the month

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