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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. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  2. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  3. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  4. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  5. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  6. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  7. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  8. It's one o'clock ________________.
  9. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  10. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  11. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  12. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  13. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  14. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  15. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  16. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  17. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  18. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  19. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  20. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  21. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  22. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  23. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  24. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?

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

Answer key

  1. spring — of water
  2. current — happening now
  3. rock — to move gently
  4. clip — for paper
  5. fall — the season
  6. clip — a video
  7. cue — for pool
  8. sharp — exactly
  9. current — of water
  10. spring — a coil
  11. kick — in football
  12. sharp — clever
  13. rock — a stone
  14. spring — the season
  15. cue — a signal
  16. current — electric
  17. fall — to drop
  18. kick — a thrill
  19. cue — a hint
  20. fall — to drop
  21. sharp — with an edge
  22. kick — with a leg
  23. clip — to cut
  24. rock — music

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