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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. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  2. We're on a ________________ here.
  3. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  4. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  5. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  6. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  7. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  8. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  9. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  10. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  11. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  12. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  13. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  14. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  15. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  16. That must've been a ________________.
  17. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  18. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  19. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  20. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  21. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  22. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  23. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  24. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?

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

Answer key

  1. roll — a cake
  2. roll — on a roll
  3. mine — an explosive
  4. clip — a video
  5. mine — for digging
  6. chest — a box
  7. roll — a list
  8. current — of water
  9. current — happening now
  10. snap — to snap out of it
  11. chest — of your body
  12. rush — to hurry
  13. chest — of your body
  14. mine — belonging to me
  15. rush — hurry
  16. rush — a thrill
  17. fan — a supporter
  18. current — electric
  19. snap — to speak sharply
  20. fan — to cool the air
  21. snap — to click
  22. clip — for paper
  23. clip — to cut
  24. fan — a supporter

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