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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. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  2. That was a fun ________________.
  3. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  4. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  5. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  6. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  7. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  8. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  9. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  10. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  11. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  12. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  13. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  14. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  15. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  16. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  17. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  18. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  19. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  20. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  21. There's no middle ________________.
  22. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  23. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  24. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — for paper
  2. game — a match
  3. current — electric
  4. clip — to cut
  5. pound — a weight
  6. track — a song
  7. pitch — a sales talk
  8. pitch — a sports field
  9. ground — crushed
  10. game — a kind of play
  11. can — a tin
  12. game — wild animals
  13. pound — to hit hard
  14. current — happening now
  15. clip — a video
  16. current — of water
  17. ground — the earth
  18. can — a tin
  19. can — to be able to
  20. pound — for dogs
  21. ground — a position
  22. track — to keep track
  23. pitch — completely
  24. track — a path

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