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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. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  2. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  3. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  4. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  5. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  6. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  7. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  8. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  9. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  10. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  11. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  12. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  13. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  14. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  15. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  16. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  17. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  18. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  19. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  20. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  21. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  22. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  23. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  24. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — for baseball
  2. fine — a penalty
  3. current — electric
  4. perch — for a bird
  5. clip — for paper
  6. fine — all right
  7. race — humankind
  8. mark — a trace
  9. current — happening now
  10. bat — the animal
  11. perch — for a bird
  12. mark — a grade
  13. race — the arms race
  14. mark — to pay attention
  15. current — of water
  16. clip — to cut
  17. chip — to eat
  18. chip — for betting
  19. clip — a video
  20. perch — the fish
  21. fine — high quality
  22. chip — in a computer
  23. bat — in an idiom
  24. race — a contest

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