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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. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  2. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  3. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  4. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  5. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  6. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  7. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  8. Don't do anything ________________.
  9. That must've been a ________________.
  10. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  11. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  12. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  13. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  14. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  15. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  16. The ________________ took off on time.
  17. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  18. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  19. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  20. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  21. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  22. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  23. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  24. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — of your body
  2. rash — a series
  3. clip — a video
  4. present — a gift
  5. rush — hurry
  6. present — the time now
  7. current — happening now
  8. rash — hasty
  9. rush — a thrill
  10. pass — to spend time
  11. clip — to cut
  12. current — of water
  13. rush — to hurry
  14. plane — a tool
  15. chest — a box
  16. plane — an aircraft
  17. rash — on the skin
  18. clip — for paper
  19. current — electric
  20. pass — to succeed
  21. plane — in geometry
  22. chest — of your body
  23. pass — a permit
  24. present — there

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