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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. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  2. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  3. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  4. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  5. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  6. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  7. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  8. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  9. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  10. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  11. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  12. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  13. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  14. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  15. The water is too ________________.
  16. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  17. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  18. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  19. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  20. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  21. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  22. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  23. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  24. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — for paper
  2. current — electric
  3. staff — a stick
  4. stick — to attach or keep to
  5. staff — employees
  6. cold — the Cold War
  7. craft — boats
  8. race — the arms race
  9. cold — an illness
  10. stick — a piece of wood
  11. hide — to keep secret
  12. stick — a piece of wood
  13. hide — to keep secret
  14. craft — a handicraft
  15. cold — not warm
  16. race — a contest
  17. clip — a video
  18. race — humankind
  19. staff — employees
  20. current — of water
  21. clip — to cut
  22. hide — animal skin
  23. current — happening now
  24. craft — a skill

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