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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. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  3. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  4. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  5. Don't do anything ________________.
  6. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  7. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  8. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  9. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  10. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  11. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  12. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  13. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  14. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  15. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  16. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  17. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  18. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  19. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  20. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  21. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  22. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  23. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  24. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — to cut
  2. current — electric
  3. clip — for paper
  4. current — happening now
  5. rash — hasty
  6. squash — the sport
  7. stem — to come from
  8. race — the arms race
  9. race — a contest
  10. wax — in the ear
  11. current — of water
  12. clip — a video
  13. wax — to grow
  14. leaves — of a tree
  15. squash — to crush
  16. squash — the vegetable
  17. leaves — lets stay
  18. leaves — to go away
  19. rash — on the skin
  20. wax — for sculpting
  21. race — humankind
  22. stem — of a plant
  23. rash — a series
  24. stem — a stem cell

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