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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. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  2. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  3. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  4. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  5. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  6. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  7. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  8. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  9. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  10. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  11. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  12. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  13. Don't do anything ________________.
  14. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  15. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  16. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  17. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  18. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  19. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  20. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  21. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  22. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  23. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  24. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — an injury
  2. clip — a video
  3. toast — bread
  4. field — farmland
  5. current — electric
  6. current — happening now
  7. lie — to recline
  8. lie — an untruth
  9. toast — the most admired
  10. wound — an injury
  11. deal — an agreement
  12. toast — a drink to someone
  13. rash — hasty
  14. field — a subject
  15. deal — to handle
  16. clip — to cut
  17. wound — past of 'wind'
  18. field — for sport
  19. current — of water
  20. deal — a big deal
  21. lie — an untruth
  22. clip — for paper
  23. rash — on the skin
  24. rash — a series

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