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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 120 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. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  2. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  3. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  4. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  5. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  6. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  7. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  8. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  9. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  10. The ________________ market has crashed.
  11. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  12. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  13. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  14. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  15. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  16. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  17. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  18. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  19. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  20. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  21. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  22. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  23. Have you met the new head ________________?
  24. Hold the papers together with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. present — there
  2. hand — in cards
  3. hand — part of the body
  4. band — a music group
  5. coach — pulled by horses
  6. present — a gift
  7. clip — a video
  8. clip — to cut
  9. rock — music
  10. stock — shares
  11. stock — goods
  12. rock — to move gently
  13. rock — a stone
  14. hand — help
  15. coach — a trainer
  16. current — electric
  17. current — happening now
  18. band — a rubber band
  19. present — the time now
  20. stock — a soup base
  21. band — a ring
  22. current — of water
  23. coach — a trainer
  24. clip — for paper

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