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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. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  2. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  3. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  4. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  5. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  6. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  7. Did you ________________ the button?
  8. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  9. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  10. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  11. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  12. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  13. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  14. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  15. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  16. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  17. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  18. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  19. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  20. Don't do anything ________________.
  21. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  22. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  23. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  24. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. track — to keep track
  2. present — there
  3. current — happening now
  4. wound — an injury
  5. rash — on the skin
  6. rash — a series
  7. press — to push
  8. present — the time now
  9. track — a song
  10. wound — an injury
  11. clip — to cut
  12. wound — past of 'wind'
  13. clip — for paper
  14. present — a gift
  15. leaves — of a tree
  16. leaves — to go away
  17. track — a path
  18. press — a publisher
  19. clip — a video
  20. rash — hasty
  21. current — of water
  22. leaves — lets stay
  23. press — newspapers
  24. current — electric

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