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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 116 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. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  2. Don't do anything ________________.
  3. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  4. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  5. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  6. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  7. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  8. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  9. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  10. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  11. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  12. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  13. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  14. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  15. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  16. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  17. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  18. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  19. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  20. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  21. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  22. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  23. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  24. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rash — a series
  2. rash — hasty
  3. row — a line
  4. wound — an injury
  5. rock — music
  6. clip — a video
  7. rock — to move gently
  8. rest — a break
  9. rest — what's left
  10. row — to paddle
  11. rest — what's left
  12. clip — to cut
  13. current — of water
  14. wound — past of 'wind'
  15. wound — an injury
  16. calf — of the leg
  17. rock — a stone
  18. row — a quarrel
  19. rash — on the skin
  20. current — electric
  21. current — happening now
  22. clip — for paper
  23. calf — a young animal
  24. calf — a young animal

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