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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 seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  2. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  3. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  4. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  5. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  6. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  7. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  8. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  9. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  10. The tickets are free of ________________.
  11. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  12. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  13. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  14. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  15. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  16. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  17. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  18. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  19. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  20. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  21. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  22. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  23. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  24. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. clip — to cut
  2. staff — employees
  3. present — there
  4. row — a quarrel
  5. staff — a stick
  6. net — for catching
  7. wind — to turn a key
  8. row — a line
  9. current — happening now
  10. charge — a price
  11. present — a gift
  12. row — to paddle
  13. net — after costs
  14. current — electric
  15. charge — in control
  16. wind — moving air
  17. clip — for paper
  18. charge — electricity
  19. wind — moving air
  20. present — the time now
  21. current — of water
  22. staff — employees
  23. net — in sport
  24. clip — a video

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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