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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. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  2. My father caught me by the ________________.
  3. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  4. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  5. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  6. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  7. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  8. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  9. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  10. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  11. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  12. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  13. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  14. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  15. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  16. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  17. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  18. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  19. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  20. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  21. That was ________________ to happen.
  22. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  23. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  24. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. current — happening now
  2. arm — part of the body
  3. arm — a part of something
  4. current — electric
  5. wax — to grow
  6. bass — low music
  7. bass — the instrument
  8. field — farmland
  9. clip — for paper
  10. present — a gift
  11. present — the time now
  12. bass — the fish
  13. wax — for sculpting
  14. clip — a video
  15. present — there
  16. current — of water
  17. bound — obliged
  18. wax — in the ear
  19. clip — to cut
  20. field — a subject
  21. bound — certain
  22. bound — tied together
  23. arm — part of the body
  24. field — for sport

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