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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. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  2. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  3. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  4. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  5. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  6. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  7. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  8. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  9. The water is too ________________.
  10. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  11. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  12. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  13. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  14. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  15. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  16. I've got to change the light ________________.
  17. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  18. The light ________________ burned out.
  19. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  20. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  21. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  22. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  23. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  24. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.

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

Answer key

  1. current — electric
  2. cold — the Cold War
  3. cue — a signal
  4. cue — a hint
  5. cold — an illness
  6. clip — to cut
  7. snap — to speak sharply
  8. face — to confront
  9. cold — not warm
  10. cue — for pool
  11. drill — army training
  12. snap — to snap out of it
  13. snap — to click
  14. face — to point toward
  15. current — happening now
  16. bulb — for light
  17. face — part of the head
  18. bulb — for light
  19. clip — for paper
  20. current — of water
  21. clip — a video
  22. drill — the tool
  23. drill — a practice
  24. bulb — of a plant

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