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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. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  2. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  3. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  4. That must've been a ________________.
  5. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  6. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  7. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  8. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  9. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  10. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  11. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  12. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  13. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  14. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  15. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  16. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  17. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  18. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  19. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  20. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  21. The tickets are free of ________________.
  22. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  23. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  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. current — happening now
  2. rush — hurry
  3. lean — to rest against
  4. rush — a thrill
  5. current — electric
  6. current — of water
  7. row — a line
  8. clip — for paper
  9. lean — to bend
  10. dip — to dunk
  11. rush — to hurry
  12. row — a quarrel
  13. clip — to cut
  14. bat — in an idiom
  15. lean — thin
  16. dip — to sink
  17. charge — electricity
  18. bat — for baseball
  19. row — to paddle
  20. bat — the animal
  21. charge — a price
  22. dip — a sauce
  23. charge — in control
  24. clip — a video

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