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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 116 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 was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  2. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  3. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  4. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  5. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  6. David sat on the ________________.
  7. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  8. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  9. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  10. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  11. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  12. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  13. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  14. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  15. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  16. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  17. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  18. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  19. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  20. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  21. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  22. The water is too ________________.
  23. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  24. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — moving air
  2. clip — for paper
  3. current — electric
  4. cold — an illness
  5. ruler — for measuring
  6. swing — to play on
  7. current — happening now
  8. swing — in golf
  9. clip — to cut
  10. ruler — a monarch
  11. wake — before a funeral
  12. wind — to turn a key
  13. pitch — completely
  14. wind — moving air
  15. pitch — a sports field
  16. clip — a video
  17. current — of water
  18. cold — the Cold War
  19. wake — a trail
  20. wake — to stop sleeping
  21. ruler — for measuring
  22. cold — not warm
  23. pitch — a sales talk
  24. swing — 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