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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. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  2. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  3. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  4. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  5. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  6. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  7. When are we going to ________________?
  8. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  9. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  10. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  11. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  12. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  13. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  14. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  15. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  16. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  17. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  18. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  19. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  20. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  21. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  22. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  23. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  24. We were using a ________________ as a seat.

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

Answer key

  1. land — ground
  2. clip — a video
  3. current — electric
  4. shower — to wash
  5. clip — for paper
  6. face — to confront
  7. land — to come down
  8. lean — to rest against
  9. current — happening now
  10. present — there
  11. lean — thin
  12. clip — to cut
  13. rock — to move gently
  14. rock — music
  15. face — to point toward
  16. face — part of the head
  17. present — a gift
  18. shower — a meteor shower
  19. present — the time now
  20. shower — rain
  21. current — of water
  22. land — a country
  23. lean — to bend
  24. rock — a stone

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